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UFC
130 Results & Live Play-by-Play
Saturday,
May 28, 2011
Renan
“Barao” Pegado vs. Cole Escovedo
Round 1
Steve Mazzagatti is the referee for the night’s opening
contest. Barao has Escovedo tied up and slammed to the canvas
in the first 30 seconds. The American pushes off the Brazilian’s
hips and works a butterfly guard, closing up as Barao scoots
him into the cage. Escovedo uses his feet to push off the cage
and Barao stands. Back on the feet, it’s Barao firing one-twos
down the pipe, stalking outward as Escovedo circles the perimeter.
Right low kick from Barao lands with a loud crack. Escovedo puts
his back to the cage and jumps guard, tying up Barao with his
lanky limbs and angling for his favorite submission, the triangle
choke. Two minutes to go in the opening stanza. Escovedo throws
elbows from underneath and tries to minimize the damage from
Barao’s minimal top assault. The bantamweights aren’t
active enough for Mazzagatti, who stands them back up. Escovedo
lands a glancing head kick, then a stiff left straight that stuns
Barao. The “Apache Kid” jumps guard again, looks for
an armbar, and throws another bunch of elbows from the bottom
as the round expires.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Pegado
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-10
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-10
Round
2
Barao is coming forward again as round two begins and walks straight
into a hard punch, then a follow-up knee from Escovedo. Disguising
any trouble he may be in, Barao puts Escovedo on his back, but
they don’t stay there long. Barao stands in center cage
again and snaps off push and leg kicks. Escovedo answers with
a hard kick to the body. Midway through the round, Barao grabs
a waist lock and trips Escovedo down at the base of the fence.
Escovedo throws horizontal elbows from his back as Barao tries
unsuccessfully to pass guard. Barao not doing much from the top
with 90 ticks to go and Mazzagatti tells the fighters to get
busy. They’re restarted on the feet with a minute left.
Barao catches a leg kick and ties up with Escovedo, who jumps
guard once more. The round expires with Escovedo sweeping out
from underneath.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-10
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-10
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-10
Round
3
Escovedo landing good, straight right hands in the opening minute
of the final frame, attacking the body of Barao with kicks. Barao
charges with a high flying knee which can’t find Escovedo’s
jaw. A big right hand seems to stun Escovedo, who is hurled to
the mat in short order with a Barao double-leg. Escovedo throws
up a triangle and Barao stands, dodging an upkick. Another flying
knee grazes for Barao, then a spinning kick. Barao scores another
takedown with 20 seconds to go and one more for good measure
just before the horn.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Pegado (30-28 Pegado)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 (30-29 Pegado)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 (30-29 Pegado)
Official
scores: Judges Patricia Morse-Jarman and Roy Silbert have it
30-27, while Junichiro Kamijo has it 29-28, all in favor of the
winner by unanimous decision, Renan “Barao” Pegado.
Chris
Cariaso vs. Michael McDonald
Round 1
Josh Rosenthal is in charge of this bantamweight tilt. McDonald
cracks Cariaso with a kick and Cariaso shoots. They clinch up
briefly and McDonald cracks his man with a right hand as they
disengage. Cariaso flicking out nice leg kicks, but McDonald
is timing them and answering with hard combos down the middle.
McDonald lands an outside thigh kick of his own, then stumbles
Cariaso with a left hook. Cariaso gets off a good right hand
as he wades inside, but McDonald grabs the neck and considers
jumping guard with a guillotine. He doesn’t and circles
away from the cage, where Cariaso continues to give chase with
low kicks. The momentum from one kick causes Cariaso to slip
and McDonald gives chase. Hard elbow from “Mayday”
on top and he stands back up with a minute to go. McDonald ducks
under a high kick just before the horn and plows Cariaso to the
floor, where Cariaso tries for a heel hook as the round ends.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 McDonald
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 McDonald
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-10
Round
2
Kicks continue to comprise the bulk of Cariaso’s offense
as round two begins; McDonald continues to try and time it for
a takedown or home run shot. Cariaso ducks inside on the much
taller McDonald with a one-two and Rosenthal warns them about
clashing heads. McDonald times a kick and sweeps the back leg
out from underneath Cariaso. He pops right back up. McDonald
is keeping his distance, using his range as he picks his shots.
Left inside thigh kick from Cariaso finds McDonald’s cup
and the Californian is given time to recover. Cariaso’s
corner tells its fighter that they believe McDonald has injured
an arm. McDonald recovers and they resume with two minutes to
go. McDonald takes a kick on the forearm, goes for a shot and
is stuffed. He bullies Cariaso against the fence and exits with
a sharp right inside. He times a kick and takes Cariaso straight
down, then moves to side control. McDonald nearly gets mount,
but Cariaso squirms out and stands just before the end of the
round.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 McDonald
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Cariaso
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Cariaso
Round
3
Kicks to the body are again the weapon of choice for Cariaso.
McDonald tries to catch another, but winds up on the underside
with Cariaso in his half-guard. McDonald ties up the right arm
of Cariaso, who’s being kept at bay by McDonald’s long
butterfly guard. McDonald regains full guard and closes it up.
McDonald throws up a triangle that forces Cariaso to stand. Two
minutes to go in the fight. McDonald drives Cariaso down and
gets his right arm trapped in an omoplata. Cariaso has the limb
triangle with 90 seconds to go, but McDonald stays calm and is
able to extract it quickly. Cariaso tries to close it out with
more kicks, but McDonald stays away and the final minute winds
down without much landed.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Cariaso (29-28 McDonald)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Cariaso (29-28 Cariaso)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Cariaso (30-28 Cariaso)
Official
scores: Judge Tony Weeks has it a clean sweep for Cariaso, 30-27.
However, judges Adalaide Byrd and Glenn Trowbridge see it 29-28
for Michael McDonald, the winner by split decision.
Gleison
Tibau vs. Rafaello Oliveira
Round 1
Referee Kim Winslow is in the cage for this lightweight bout.
It’s hard but somewhat tentative striking in the early going
with Tibau taking the center of the cage. He puts Oliveira on
his back, but “Tractor” doesn’t stay there for
more than a moment, shoving Tibau off the top. They go back to
standing and Tibau is scoring with left hooks while Oliveira
kicks to the body. Two minutes to go. Tibau wades forward with
a huge overhand right that glances. He drives Oliveira to the
floor again, and this time, Tibau holds him there. Oliveira is
active underneath, shrimping and kicking, regaining guard, and
ultimately standing back up. Tibau scores with a hard left hand
and plays matador as Oliveira rushes forward.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Tibau
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Tibau
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-10
Round
2
Oliveira looks to play aggressor in the second, but Tibau is
keeping his countryman at range with murderous left hooks. Tibau
executes a perfect takedown with 3:30 on the clock. On the ground,
referee Winslow warns someone to “watch the eyes.”
Oliveira slips an armbar attempt and works back to his feet,
whereupon he looks for a takedown of his own. A short left uppercut
from Tibau sends Oliveira buckling to the mat, his back to the
cage. Tibau gives chase. Back mount for Tibau as Oliveira turtles.
Tibau has his hooks in and bangs away with left hands to the
side of Oliveira’s head. Just as the storm seems to relent,
Tibau sees an opening and snakes his right arm around Oliveira’s
throat. Oliveira is trapped and forced to submit to the rear-naked
choke at 3:28 of the second round.
Kendall
Grove vs.
Tim Boetsch
Round 1
Boetsch dips inside for a single-leg and is spun around by the
lanky “Spyder.” The second attempt yields a better
result and Boetsch stuffs Grove down against the base of the
fence. Boetsch grinds there a minute and then backs out, allowing
Grove to stand. The middleweights trade teep kicks and clinch
up, where Boetsch drops Grove with a smooth double and takes
side control. Grove shrimps and Boetsch deals him a few punches
to the back of the head, for which he is verbally warned by ref
Steve Mazzagatti. Grove throws up his legs for an armbar, forcing
Boetsch to retreat. The “Barbarian” stands over Grove,
who kicks at Boetsch’s knees from his back. Boetsch lets
him up and they engage against the fence with over-unders. Grove
gets a front headlock and knees to the thigh and gut of Boetsch,
who extracts his head with about 90 seconds remaining. Boetsch
is breathing heavy as he tries to neutralize the more active
Grove in the clinch. Grove scores with knees to the stomach and
one up high. Another lands to the body of Boetsch at the horn.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Boetsch
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Boetsch
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Boetsch
Round
2
The middleweights find themselves back in the clinch after a
moment of light exchanging. Grove scores with a few strikes in
close quarters, but Boetsch decides to take it to the floor and
does so at will. Hard, short right hands score as Boetsch leans
from Grove’s left to right in side control. Grove gets to
his knees and stands, but is single-legged straight back down.
Grove appears to be cut near the right eye as he struggles beneath
the powerful wrestler. Boetsch has head-and-arm control on Grove
as the Hawaiian works to his feet. Grove uses the fence and a
wide base to stuff a single-leg with a minute on the clock. A
few elbows to the side later, Boetsch gets his way and Grove
is again on his back. They and Grove has a long high kick blocked
as the round ends.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Boetsch
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Boetsch
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Boetsch
Round
3
Boetsch drags Grove down with a high single inside the first
20 seconds. Grove gets back up and finds himself pinned to the
cage. He reverses the position and puts a few hard right hands
on Boetsch’s face. Boetsch gets his hips in front, though,
and tosses Grove to the ground. Grove is on his knees now with
Boetsch looking to hop on his back. He can’t get there and
instead knees to Grove’s body. Grove finds an opening and
scrambles up with three minutes left in the fight. Thirty seconds
later, Grove is on his back once more. He throws up a triangle;
it’s not tight, but it’s enough to get Boetsch to stand.
Another easy takedown from Boetsch and Grove is now sporting
a more significant cut beneath his right eye. Boetsch lays in
half-guard on Grove’s right side, framing up the far-side
arm. Grove scrambles up and executes a double-leg of his own
on the fence, but Boetsch quickly sweeps and grabs a headlock.
The match ends with Boetsch bullying Grove on the cage.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Boetsch (30-27 Boetsch)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Boetsch (30-27 Boetsch)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Boetsch (30-27 Boetsch)
Official
scores: All three judges -- Adalaide Byrd, Junichiro Kamijo and
Patricia Morse-Jarman -- have it 30-27 for Tim Boetsch, who takes
a unanimous decision in his middleweight debut.
Miguel
Torres vs. Demetrious Johnson
Round 1
Torres flicks out some leg kicks and looks to keep his range
early. They soon tie up, however, and the diminutive Johnson
brings the fight to the floor. They scramble and Torres winds
up on top. Johnson traps him in half-guard and digs short heels
into the back of Torres’ thigh. The former WEC champ looks
to be framing up an arm-triangle as he tries to extract his left
leg and hop to the side, but “Mighty Mouse” is keeping
him at bay. Johnson sits up and Torres grabs a headlock, then
threatens to slink the second arm around for a brabo choke. Johnson
senses danger and extracts his head, and Torres passes to side
control with two minutes to go. Lovely sweep from Johnson finds
the positions suddenly switched, but Torres uses his legs to
sweep right back. Torres drops back for a heel hook and Johnson
matches him. Johnson stands and rushes to take Torres’ back,
but Torres drops back to guard and throws up a triangle. Johnson
pulls loose and Torres rolls, keeping Johnson in guard. Guillotine
attempt from Torres before the horn.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Torres
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Torres
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Torres
Round
2
Johnson uses quick hands and feet, ducking in and out with combinations
before driving Torres down with a double. Torres drives his heels
into Johnson’s back and is warned to mind the spine by referee
Josh Rosenthal. Torres tries to roll with a triangle, can’t
find it and they pop back up. Another takedown for Johnson, but
Torres is doing work from his back, elbowing and boxing the ears
of Johnson. Torres is put down again, but he slaps on a reverse
triangle choke. He doesn’t have it tight and releases Johnson
after a moment, going back to striking from his back. Johnson
can’t pass the long guard of Torres, nor land much in the
way of meaningful offense up top. Torres leans to his left and
isolates the right arm of Johnson, then rolls through, putting
Johnson back in full guard. Torres looks to push off the cage
with his feet, but Johnson is in his face now. Johnson hops up
and into reverse-mount. Torres throws his legs up and Johnson
jams him up, finally passing to half-guard, but the round ends
there.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Torres
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Torres
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Torres
Round
3
Johnson clubs Torres with an overhand right; it doesn’t
seem to do much damage, but Johnson scores on an ankle pick nonetheless.
Torres quickly closes his guard and ties up the right arm of
Johnson, who stays calm and pulls it loose. Side control for
Johnson with 3:30 to go, but 15 seconds later, Torres has him
stuffed back in his full guard. The battle for position goes
on with Johnson taking side control. Once he gets there, though,
Torres grabs for a leg lock and Johnson has to take flight. Torres
tries to stand, but gets caught on his knees and is forced to
roll back to guard. Torres posts up on his left arm and simply
uses his length and leverage to sweep Johnson. Torres has full
mount with two minutes left, but the ex-champ isn’t rushing.
He flattens Johnson but can’t get anything off before Johnson
sneaks his leg through the middle and reclaims guard. Torres
is in half-guard, tying up the collar of Johnson. It turns to
a guillotine, but Johnson escapes to his feet. Another takedown
for Johnson and another guillotine attempt from Torres at the
horn ends it.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Torres (30-27 Torres)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Torres (30-27 Torres)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-10 (30-28 Torres)
Official
scores: Judges Dave Hagen, Glenn Trowbridge and Tony Weeks all
see it 29-28 for the winner by unanimous decision, Demetrious
Johnson.
Brian
Stann vs. Jorge Santiago
Round 1
Referee Herb Dean makes his first appearance of the evening to
officiate this middleweight affair. Stann moves forward, whipping
hard kicks to the upper thigh of the Brazilian. Stann connects
with punches as Santiago lowers his head and ducks inside. Santiago
slips coming in for a takedown, dusts himself off and stands
back up. Outside thigh kick from Santiago lands with a thud;
Stann returns fire. Stann kicks the lead leg out from under Santiago.
A huge left from Stann puts Santiago on his rear and Stann gives
chase, shoving his man into the fence. Big elbows and hammerfists
from Stann bust through Santiago’s guard. Stann smothers
the mouth and then drops more elbows as Santiago gets his wits
about him with a minute left. Santiago is warned for grabbing
the fence as he spins to his feet, taking more punishment from
Stann.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-8 Stann
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Stann
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Stann
Round
2
Before the second round begins, referee Dean warns the Brazilian
about leaving his hand open when he strikes. Santiago rushes
Stann into the cage early and drives a knee up the gut. Stann
muscles out of the position and it’s back to boxing. Half-hearted
takedown attempt from Santiago is shucked easily by Stann, who’s
headhunting with big right hands while continuing to chop away
at the left leg of Santiago. Spinning backfist lands for Santiago,
but Stann retaliates right away with a stinging left hook. Stann
catches a slow-moving kick, shoves Santiago away, and lands another
leg kick of his own. Santiago tries a flying knee and slips.
Stann still working the leg kicks with a minute left, then drills
one to the body. Overhand right from Stann lands behind the ear
of Santiago and the Brazilian falls to his back. Stann stands
over him, blasting away with straight shots to the face. Herb
Dean sees Santiago’s lights flickering and steps in for
a righteous save at 4:29 of the second round.
Rick
Story vs. Thiago Alves
Round 1
Story gets Alves doubled over and pinned against the cage, where
the American drills knees into Alves’ thigh. Strong waist
lock for Story, who continues to assault with the knees as Alves
has nowhere to go. Now Alves puts Story on the front side and
trips him down, but Story whips right around and back to his
feet. The crowd cheers the first two minutes of heavy action.
Story comes forward, winging punches and backing Alves into the
fence before changing levels. Alves defends the double leg and
the welterweights pummel for control with over-unders. Story
knees to the inside thigh; Alves punches short shots to the body.
Referee Kim Winslow splits them up with two minutes on the clock.
Story wings combos, but an Alves knee to the gut seems to make
the wrestler think better of the exchange. He whips Alves into
the fence and doubles over, but again is stuffed. Story takes
a step back and unloads with a half-dozen hard punches, two or
three of which find their marks. Alves ties back up and then
shoves Story off. They clinch and Story comes with knees up the
gut.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Story
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Story
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Story
Round
2
Story lands a glancing head kick and snaps Alves’ head back
with a right hand. The wrestler goes low, can’t find a takedown
and settles for a waist lock. Alves puts his back to the cage
and gets an underhook to shove Story away. Another takedown attempt
from Story appears to stall out at the fence, but a second effort
finds Alves on his back. The Brazilian pops right back up and
trips Story to the canvas, quickly advancing to half-guard. Story
powers his way out and stands, placing Alves’ back on a
cagepost. Story leans his full weight on Alves, stifling any
potential offense from the striker. Story goes back to his thigh-kneeing
of the first frame before the pair is split again by Winslow.
Alves slips on a kick and simultaneously eats a punch to the
gut. As he gets back up, Story rushes him and throws his arms
around Alves’ waist, eliciting boos from the audience. Wild
exchanges end the round with neither man landing much of significance.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Story
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Story
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Story
Round
3
It’s a firefight in the early going, both men winging punches
in close quarters. Alves gets off a few hard ones, then a knee,
and suddenly Story’s pace slows. A weak single-leg attempt
follows; this time, Alves doesn’t take long to shuck Story
off. Story keeps pressing forward, though, throwing to body and
head before going for another single. No takedown for Story.
Alves comes over the top with a crisp left hook that jacks Story’s
jaw. Alves stuffs another single from Story, puts Story’s
back on the cage and shoves off with double underhooks. Alves
just trying to keep his distance now, sidestepping every time
Story comes forward. Alves with a one-two, an uppercut, another
left; Story lands a right hand of his own and tries again in
vain to bring the fight to the floor. Alves puts a right straight
on Story’s nose and wilts him with a knee. Story ties up
with 40 seconds to go, but Alves breaks free. He smacks a right
high kick off the side of Story’s face. Story goes wild
with punches in the waning seconds, but Alves does, too, and
the Brazilian’s strikes land cleaner to the final horn.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Alves (29-28 Story)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Alves (29-28 Story)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Alves (29-28 Story)
Official
scores: All three judges have it 29-28 in favor of the winner
by unanimous decision, Rick Story.
Travis
Browne vs. Stefan Struve
Round 1
Struve gets off with an early knee and uses his massive frame
to pin Browne to the cage. Browne gets off a short elbow, reverses
the position, and gets a separation from ref Steve Mazzagatti.
Browne ducks in and out with punches, but Struve uses a huge
push kick to keep him away. Struve has a big right kick to the
body caught, but Browne can’t do anything with it. Struve
ducks big punches, kicks Browne in the body again. The big men
tie up and Browne trips the “Skyscraper” down. Struve
turns his hips and tries to put his back to the cage. Browne
goes to stand and Struve picks the ankle, tripping the American
to his knees. Lighting fast, Struve latches an anaconda choke
on the neck of Browne, but he can’t roll for the finish.
Browne wants it back on the feet with a minute to go. Browne
times a right-handed Superman punch perfectly and Struve bends
over backward like a tree in a strong wind. The towering Dutchman
crashes to the canvas and Browne gives chase, but it’s already
a done deal. The official time of the highlight-reel knockout
is 4:11 of the opening frame.
Frank
Mir vs. Roy Nelson
Round 1
The southpaw Mir takes to the center of the cage, but Nelson
rushes forward and initiates the clinch. Mir puts Nelson’s
back to the fence and looks for a double-leg that doesn’t
come. Nelson swaps positions and puts hands to Mir’s gut,
but Mir is doing well to frustrate and stall “Big Country.”
The former champ exits with a hard knee, then just misses with
a big head kick. Nelson lands a solid right hand and clinches
up again, this time using underhooks to immobilize Mir. Knees
inside from Nelson draw a warning from referee Josh Rosenthal
to “keep ‘em clean.” Mir connects with two or
three hard, high knees and Nelson backs away. More knees from
Mir back Nelson up further, but not for long. Nelson puts Mir
on the fence again, hold him there a moment, then backs up, slugging.
Mir strikes with more knees and then tosses Nelson to the ground
beautifully. Mir takes full mount and Nelson craftily twists
around, scrambling to his feet. The round ends with Nelson trying
to mount offense against the cage.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Mir
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Mir
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Mir
Round
2
Nelson slugs Mir with a big right over the top. Mir throws a
combo and a solid kick to the body, rushing in behind it to beat
Nelson to the clinch. Mir drops for a single-leg and deposits
Nelson on his back in half-guard. Mir puts his glove over the
mouth of Nelson and is warned by referee Rosenthal to watch the
eyes. Nelson works to his feet and they clinch again with Big
Country scoring on uppercuts. Another knee in the clinch is followed
by another Mir takedown. He pins down Nelson’s left arm,
but Nelson again powers his way out and to his feet. The crowd
approves and Nelson sucks in a deep breath with 90 seconds to
go in the middle round. Nelson shoots a single and puts Mir’s
back on the fence. Nelson looks wiped as he holds Mir to the
cage for the final minute.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Mir
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Mir
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Mir
Round
3
Mir ducks inside and ties up to score with another high knee;
after it lands, Nelson backs away and draws a breath with his
hands at his side. A kick to the body and further knees come
from Mir before he walks Nelson into a corner and plows him down
once again. Mir works from a loose half-guard on Nelson’s
right, pinning down Nelson’s arm, laying punches and forearms
across the face. Nelson stands and the sequence repeats. Elbows,
hammerfists and shoulder shrugs find their way to the exhausted
grill of Nelson, but he still manages to climb back up. Another
high double puts Nelson on his back, where he’s simply gasping
for air. Heavy, heavy elbows from Mir in the last minute, but
Nelson is able to end the fight on his feet.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Mir (30-27 Mir)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Mir (30-27 Mir)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Mir (30-27 Mir)
Official
scores: It’s a clean sweep for Frank Mir with the judges
at cageside turning in scorecards of 30-26 and 30-27 (twice).
Quinton
Jackson vs. Matt Hamill
Round 1
Herb Dean is the third man in the cage for tonight’s main
event. Judges Roy Silbert, Glenn Trowbridge and Tony Weeks score
the bout at cageside. Jackson sports his usual pre-fight grimace
during the introductions and final instructions. Hamill attacks
with kicks to the head and body early, then has a long shot stuffed
by Jackson. Hamill kicks with his left as Jackson circles off
in that direction. Rampage paws with punches just out of range;
Hamill uses another outside leg kick, then a teep. Jackson explodes
with punches only when Hamill comes inside, looking to counter.
He reacts to a faked shot from Hamill, but comes forward with
a two-piece and finishes with an uppercut on the doubled-over
“Hammer.” Long, straight rights from Hamill precede
a stuffed shot. Jackson cracks Hamill with a left and stuffs
another single-leg a moment later. Now Jackson goes offensive,
moving forward with punches, but this soon subsides. Good left-right
from Hamill around the 60-second mark. Jackson shucks another
shot and blasts away upon exit, landing more uppercuts and an
outside thigh kick at the horn. Blood drips from the mouth of
Hamill as he walks to his corner, hands on his hips.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Jackson
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Jackson
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Jackson
Round
2
Hamill comes out with a left head kick, but Jackson blocks it
and fires off a crisp combo. Hamill half-shoots, eats a left
hand and fakes another shot. Hamill shoots across the center
of the cage, but Jackson is backing up before Hamill’s arms
are even extended. Jackson bullies his man on the fence, drives
a sharp knee to the gut. Uppercut in the clinch from Jackson
makes Hamill try a throw. It doesn’t come, so Hamill shoves
the ex-champ off. Hamill tries to go low for an ankle pick; again
Jackson has it sussed and backs Hamill into the fence with punches.
Back in the center of the cage with 2:30 on the clock and Hamill
lobs a noticeably slower leg kick. Jackson slips a long, slow
jab from Hamill and backs him up with a one-two. Jackson stuffs
two more shots from Hamill in short order. He comes inside and
digs a heater to Hamill’s body, following up with shots
to the head. More body blows come from Rampage and he finishes
the frame with a knee in the clinch.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Jackson
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Jackson
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Jackson
Round
3
Hamill starts the round with a Superman punch, but is punished
for the try with a Jackson counter. Hamill continues to try and
stick with single jabs that miss and single-legs that are stuffed.
He does manage to clinch with Jackson, but it doesn’t last
long. Hamill puts a left hand on Jackson’s cheek. It doesn’t
do much and Jackson soon moves forward with more rib roasters.
Hamill clinches up and Jackson scores with a knee to the gut.
The Hammer looking every bit the anvil, taking blows low and
high from Jackson, leg kicks and punches. Ninety seconds to go
and both men are spent. Jackson puts Hamill’s back on the
fence, but gets reversed and eats a few punches to the body.
Boos rain down in the last 30 seconds, but Jackson stifles them
with a leaping knee and a hard combination to finish the fight.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Jackson (30-27 Jackson)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Jackson (30-27 Jackson)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Jackson (30-27 Jackson)
Official
scores: Judges Silbert, Trowbridge and Weeks all score it 30-27
in favor of Quinton Jackson. The crowd boos as the cards are
read and throughout Jackson’s interview, surely not in protest
of the decision, but the fight itself.
Source: Sherdog
|
DREAM
5/29 Saitama Super Arena (2011 Bantamweight Japan GP series)
By Zach
Arnold
Bantamweight tournament: Darren Uyenoyama vs. Atsushi Yamamoto
Bantamweight tournament: Yoshiro Maeda vs. Hideo Tokoro
Bantamweight tournament: Masakazu Imanari vs. Keisuke Fujiwara
Bantamweight tournament: Kenji Osawa vs. Takafumi Otsuka
Featherweights: Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Joachim Hansen
Featherweights: Lion Takeshi vs. Koichiro Matsumoto
Featherweights: Kaoru Uno vs. Akiyo “Wicky” Nishiura
Lightweights: Katsunori Kikuno vs. Daisuke Nakamura
Lightweights: Shinya Aoki vs. Antonio McKee
Bantamweight tournament semi-final #1 (winner of fight #1 vs.
fight #2)
Bantamweight tournament semi-final #2 (winner of fight #3 vs.
fight #4)
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Georges
St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz? Not “Out of the Picture”
The hot topic of late has been the first fight between a UFC
champion and Strikeforce champion since Zuffa took ownership
of both companies; the fight being between Georges St-Pierre
and Nick Diaz.
Only the fight isn’t happening, but it is, sort of, but
maybe not yet.
UFC president Dana White addressed the recent rumors, saying
that UFC champion Georges St-Pierre and Strikeforce champion
Nick Diaz are not signed to fight each other at UFC 140 in Montreal.
Nor are they coaching the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
But he feel short of saying the fight would not happen. It just
isn’t signed.. yet.
“I wouldn’t say that Diaz is out of the picture, but
we just don’t know yet,” said White as reporters grilled
him following Wednesday’s UFC 130 preflight press conference.
“If I gave you a percentage (of the odds the fight will
happen), I’d be speaking out of turn. Nothing has been worked
out.”
He did, however, appear to talk Diaz out of taking a professional
boxing bout in the meantime… so the door is open.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Georges
St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz? Not “Out of the Picture”
The hot topic of late has been the first fight between a UFC
champion and Strikeforce champion since Zuffa took ownership
of both companies; the fight being between Georges St-Pierre
and Nick Diaz.
Only the fight isn’t happening, but it is, sort of, but
maybe not yet.
UFC president Dana White addressed the recent rumors, saying
that UFC champion Georges St-Pierre and Strikeforce champion
Nick Diaz are not signed to fight each other at UFC 140 in Montreal.
Nor are they coaching the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
But he feel short of saying the fight would not happen. It just
isn’t signed.. yet.
“I wouldn’t say that Diaz is out of the picture, but
we just don’t know yet,” said White as reporters grilled
him following Wednesday’s UFC 130 preflight press conference.
“If I gave you a percentage (of the odds the fight will
happen), I’d be speaking out of turn. Nothing has been worked
out.”
He did, however, appear to talk Diaz out of taking a professional
boxing bout in the meantime… so the door is open.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
|
Brown
Changes Training After Consecutive Losses
Mike Thomas Brown was trying to bounce back when he took a short-notice
fight against Rani Yahya on Jan. 22, but instead he ended up
with his second loss in a month.
The
role fatigue played in the unanimous decision defeat was especially
hard for Brown to swallow.
“It
was so frustrating, and it’s not fun,” Brown said recently
on the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show.
“That’s when fights are not fun is when you get exhausted
like that. If you’re feeling good and you’re getting
picked apart, it almost doesn’t even bother you as much.
... But when you’re just feeling like, ‘I want to throw
up and die,’ that’s not a good feeling.”
On
Jan. 1, Brown lost a split decision to Diego Nunes at UFC 125.
Fatigue was a factor in that fight as well, which sent the hardworking
Brown in search of answers.
“I
think I was overtrained,” he concluded. “I was training
really hard and I was getting really tired in both fights for
some reason, which isn’t usually the case for me. I was
pretty upset. I talked to some doctors and some exercise physiologists
because it was pretty bad.”
All
signs pointed to overtraining, Brown said. About a month into
camp for the Nunes fight, he had been feeling great. His status
then declined.
“It
felt like I was getting more and more out of shape as the fight
was coming closer, which didn’t make any sense because I
never really let off the gas,” Brown said. “You just
have to know your body. Sometimes you can push it too much, especially
if you’re really excited about a fight.”
Brown
has vowed to learn from his mistakes. In particular, he plans
to reduce the number of rounds he spars and also stop putting
himself through heavy training sessions twice a day. He’s
going to get back to lifting weights and also focus on conditioning.
This
new regimen will be put to the test Aug. 6 at UFC 133 when Brown
meets Nam Phan.
“I
haven’t been fighting well,” Brown said. “I know
I gotta win. This is it, man. I’m going to train hard and
I’ll be ready. We’ll see what happens, but I’m
confident. If I perform like I should, we should be all right.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
Urijah
Faber expects UFC title fight against Dominick Cruz to have the
same result as first encounter
By Zach
Arnold
RON
KRUCK:“How’s training going?”
URIJAH
FABER:“Training’s been going great. I’ve been
real busy, mixing the training along with everything else, that’s
part of the game here in the UFC, so… I feel great. My weight’s
under control, my body feels incredible and I can’t wait
to get in there and fight.”
RON
KRUCK:“Your thoughts now that you’ve now got one fight
under your belt in the UFC and now that you’re the main
event for an event?”
URIJAH
FABER:“Yeah, I mean, I’m just honored to be main event.
I feel like I’ve been in that position since I started in
this game, ever since my third fight it’s been some sort
of main event, you know, whether it be on a tiny little show
or now the UFC so I just feel really fortunate, man. I can’t
wait to put on a show and get that belt.”
RON
KRUCK:“For people who don’t know why is it that you
and Dominick (Cruz) just don’t get along?”
URIJAH
FABER:“It’s been a number of different things, you
know, it started way back when we fought the first time, him
being disrespectful and kind of immature and then me beating
him up and him continuing, you know. So, it’s like…
you know, there’s not many people who get on my nerves like
that but there’s, you know, a little more incentive, you
know, this is like the old-school, meet-at-the-park and those
are the best kind of fights and so it’s rare for me to have
a real enemy, and I’m lucky in this one.”
RON
KRUCK:“You got the victory over (Cruz), it was several years
ago but is there anything that you can look at from that first
meeting that can benefit you this time around or is this ancient
history?”
URIJAH
FABER:“We’re both very different fighters but I think
there’s a little bit to learn from that fight, you know,
and I’ve got a great game plan and I feel like in all aspects
of the game I’m the better fighter, so… His thing is
he’s real elusive and he’s got an unorthodox style
but it’s a not real scary style, he’s not a big finisher
and he frustrates people, he, you know, frustrator, irritator,
but not The Dominator.”
RON
KRUCK:“Recently, there’s been some big retirements
in the world of Mixed Martial Arts, you know, Chuck going back
a little bit further but most recently Randy Couture hanging
up the gloves. Urijah, you’ve been in this sport for a long
time, your thoughts about a pioneer like Randy going out?”
URIJAH
FABER:“Um… you know, it’s been cool to watch Randy
because I was there, you know, a fan since the beginning of his
career and I remember the old comb over balding hair and, you
know, the little Speedo and I just watched the whole thing change
over time and he’s a real, he’s really a guy that’s
helped out a ton of fighters and I’ve learned from that,
the way he carried himself so it’s pretty amazing to see
what he did in the sport, not only as a fighter but as an ambassador
and somebody that paved the way for a lot of guys to represent
the sport well, so… Can’t believe he lasted so long,
man, and competitive, so it was pretty neat, man, to see guys
like Chuck and Randy and, you know, Mark Coleman and even guys,
you know, Tito Ortiz, he’s still fighting and that’s
a guy that I looked at in the beginning and was the first guy
I felt that came with some charisma and, you know, it’s
neat to see how these things have changed and the sport’s
so new but it’s got such a great history and every year,
something new happens.”
RON
KRUCK:“Looking at the way that Randy went out, you know,
of course, he would have preferred to go out with a victory.
But to go out on his own terms, you know, a lot of athletes,
it doesn’t matter what the sport is, they don’t have
that opportunity. Your thoughts about that to be able to say,
hey, I’m feeling good and this is the time to leave?”
URIJAH
FABER:“Yeah, I mean, basically what it comes down to is
can you still beat some people up? And he believe he could so
it’s cool to see someone who believes in himself and given
that opportunity because there’s been a lot of times where
guys are like, oh, man, what’s he doing, and all of a sudden
he takes out Tim Sylvia and then he takes out Cheick Kongo or
whoever it is, he’s taking out these monsters and it’s
all about the mind, man, you know, everything is in the mind.
You know, the age thing, there’s of course, you know, Mother
Nature that has a hand in it, but… bottom line is, do you
believe in yourself? And it’s good to see that age is just
another factor that your mind has control of.”
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Dana
White’s comments breathe new life into the Chael Sonnen
media controversy
By Zach
Arnold
Now
that he has come out and said that the athletic commissions (California/Nevada)
are punishing Chael Sonnen as harshly as Nevada punished Mike
Tyson when he bit Evander Holyfield’s ear, I think it’s
safe say that the discussion on this matter will continue. Bottom
line: If UFC wants to book Chael Sonnen in Texas (ala Antonio
Margarito), they can and they will. This whole situation is now
on UFC’s door step. If they want to book Chael Sonnen, they
can. If they think he’s finished and will have to fight
in a state where he’ll run into problems with that state’s
drug testing policy, then they won’t book him. The UFC,
at this point, will not be able to hide under a commission’s
ruling if they want to book Sonnen. They may as well get used
to it, anyways, with Josh Barnett fighting on the Zuffa-run Strikeforce
event in Dallas on June 18th.
Speaking
of negative reaction towards Keith Kizer and the California State
Athletic Commission, here’s round two from Marika Taylor.
She accuses Mr. Kizer of conspiracy in relation to destroy Mr.
Sonnen’s career. I don’t know if that, in and of itself,
is a libelous statement but she has made the charge publicly.
Let’s
see if she’ll go to Las Vegas and approach Mr. Kizer face-to-face.
“While
Kizer and CSACs plot to end Chaels career entirely was intercepted,
they still managed to keep him from making a living on TUF. I
hope Chael sues the CSAC and includes Kizer in the lawsuit since
he orchestrated the plan and got the CSAC to carry out his dirty
work. The same day Chael submitted an application for a license
in Nevada, CSAC created new suspension from thin air. Coincidence?
I think not.
“Don’t
understand what CSAC stood to gain by carrying out Kizer wishes
or why Kizer has such a hard on for Chael. But I’ll expose
everything. Kizer job description: go on radio do personal interviews,
illegally talk and mock someones private medical condition imply
wrongdoing, then boldly create a fake suspension in California
so he doesn’t have to look like a douche bag for not giving
Chael a Nevada license. Kizer got his panties in a knot when
he thought Chael misquote him at December CSAC hearing. Chael
clarified he had never spoken to Kizer about testosterone replacement
therapy but that he believed his manager did. Keith denies ever
speaking to either of them only to change his story under oath
last Wednesday when faced with phone records between him and
lindland Kizer squirmed around and completely changed story.
Repeatedly at that same hearing that his manager spoke to Kizer
re TRT disclosure not him personally. There was no ambiguity.
“The
whole fake suspension was based around what Kizer told CSAC was
inconsistent statements..even tho they were clarified in December.
And even though Kizer was never at the hearing. when Kizer went
on the radio and branded Chael a liar, they all had a meeting
to clear thing up. Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana Chael and lindland
all sat down with Kizer to clear the air. Kizer flat out refused
to license Chael, then called CSAC, made up this suspension and
then arrogantly told the press he wouldnly license Chael until
he resolved his issues with CSAC. Chael had already resolved
his issues with CSAC and had served his suspension for what CSAC
believed was improper disclosure of medication. Chael Sonnen
was moving on with his life and excited to be on TUF and go back
to earning a living. Kizer single handedly stopped that.
“At
the Hearing last Wednesday Kizer swore under oath. Actually he
instead of saying so help me God Kizer arrogantly said “so
help Me.” Pretty appropriate since Kizer has absolute power
and is clearly playing God. Under kizers version of a solemn
oath Kizer changed his story. Chael is branded a liar for one
statement he made in December that he repeatedly clarified. Kizer
goes out of his way waaaaaay out of his across state lines to
nail Chael, when Kizer himself was inconsistent. Only when faced
with phone records and after speaking with lindland Keith Kizer
admitted that his memory was jogged. He does remember speaking
to lindland about TRT. Who’s the liar now? Oh but Kizer
wanted to pipe in that he never told Lindland that he didn’t
have to disclose TRT. Oh That part he remembers. How convenient.
Kizer is childish, petty and unprofessional. He’s an attention
whore. Hes a wanna be gangster, a bold faced liar and as corrupt
as can be. Kizer prevented Chael from making a living, defamed
his character, disclosed a private medical condition publicly
and is a disgrace to NSAC.
“CSAC
maintains Chaels license expires June 29th, even though it actually
expired last September.”
I’ll
end this post by bringing up some comments that were made by
Steve Cofield of Yahoo’s Cagewriter.com site on ESPN1100
radio when he was hosting an MMA segment with Roy Nelson and
Adam Hill (of the Las Vegas Review-Journal). The subject of Chael
Sonnen’s suspension came up and they were critical of the
way the athletic commissions are handling the matter…
STEVE
COFIELD:“Chael Sonnen. So he goes and speaks in front of,
he testifies in front of the California State Athletic Commission.
They say, no, 4-1, you’re not getting your license back.
Now, we’re looking ahead, he’s officially banned until
the middle of 2011. … Which effectively says, I guess you
can go somewhere else and fight and get a license in another
state but is the UFC going to go against the California commission
and allow Chael Sonnen to fight? Is two years too severe for
what he did?”
ROY
NELSON:“Um… the way I look at it is… first they
gave him, it’s like if you go to a court case and if you
get a sentence for six months, you can’t go back and go,
well, you know what? Now we’re going to do a year, two years.
I mean, they already gave him a sentence of six months, they
reduced it to six months, so stick it. And now they’re just
mad because they either look stupid or they’ve got a little
peeve.”
STEVE
COFIELD:“It’s like double jeopardy. They found out
afterwards that he may have, you know, was playing his character,
so we’re going to get you.”
ROY
NELSON:“So, they want to penalize him but I mean there’s
blatantly guys where they’re like, yeah, I cheated, I did
this, I did that. I mean, he told them before even the tests
came out, so it really is on them. So, but you know, I mean,
I’ve seen guys go, ‘yeah, I cheated’, and then
they go, ‘OK, don’t do it again,’ ‘okay,’
and then they give them a year. Now, they’re just doing
two years, I mean, I don’t think Chael should be penalized
that way. I think he should just go ahead and fight outside California.”
ADAM
HILL (LVRJ):“It was extremely harsh what they did and I
think some of the reasons they did it are complete unfair. First
of all, they brought up his money laundering case, which…
I don’t know what’s going on, boxers all the time…
We talked off the air about it, there’s boxers coming out
of jail and going out to fight, how is that not harming the sport
yet Chael Sonnen’s money laundering charge is? That’s
crazy. And they also use statements he made in the media to disprove
things he said on the record to the commission. That’s insane.
He can say whatever he wants to the media. I want guys to be
honest to be but they don’t have to be, they’re not
under oath when they’re talking to the media. You can’t
use what he says in interviews to discredit what he says in the
commission hearing, that’s insane.”
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
9
Bouts Official for Strikeforce Challengers 16
by Mike
Whitman
Nine
bouts are now official for Strikeforce “Challengers 16”,
as two new contests have been added to the show’s undercard.
These
additions include Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu representative Derek
Brunson, as the three-time All-American wrestler locks horns
with Jeremy Hamilton in a middleweight duel. Also scrapping at
the event will be once-beaten Trevor Smith, as the light heavyweight
toes the line against Keith Berry. Those bouts join the undercard
alongside two previously reported contests: Jason High-Quinn
Mulhern and Yuri Villefort-Travis Bush.
Strikeforce
Challengers 16 goes down June 24 from the ShoWare Center in Kent,
Wash., and will be headlined by a lightweight showdown between
Caros Fodor (Pictured; file photo) and James Terry. Slated in
the co-main event slot is Ryan Couture, as the submission specialist
squares off with fellow undefeated lightweight Matt Ricehouse.
A
light heavyweight confrontation is also scheduled for the main
draw, as powerful striker Lorenz Larkin meets former college
football linebacker Gian Villante. Meanwhile, Antwain Britt will
welcome Danillo Villefort to the Strikeforce cage, as Britt faces
the Brazilian in his Strikeforce debut. Rounding out the main
card will be a potentially explosive 135-pound women’s bout
between strikers Germaine de Randamie and Julia Budd.
Strikeforce
Challengers 16
Friday,
June 24
ShoWare Center
Kent, Wash.
Caros
Fodor vs. James Terry
Ryan Couture vs. Matt Ricehouse
Lorenz Larkin vs. Gian Villante
Antwain Britt vs. Danillo Villefort
Germaine de Randamie vs. Julia Budd
Jason High vs. Quinn Mulhern
Yuri Villefort vs. Travis Bush
Derek Brunson vs. Jeremy Hamilton
Trevor Smith vs. Keith Berry
Source:
Sherdog
|
UFC
131 card (6/11 Vancouver, B.C. at Rogers Arena)
By Zach
Arnold
Dark
matches/TV prelims
Heavyweights:
Dave Herman vs. Jon Olav Einemo
Featherweights: Michihiro Omigawa vs. Darren Elkins
Heavyweights: Joey Beltran vs. Aaron Rosa
Middleweights: Nick Ring vs. James Head
Light Heavyweights: Kryzysztof Soszynski vs. Igor Pokrajac
Featherweights: Dustin Poirier vs. Jason Young
Middleweights: Jesse Bongfeldt vs. Chris Weidman
Lightweights: Sam Stout vs. Yves Edwards
Lightweights: Vagner Rocha vs. Donald Cerrone
Main card
Featherweights:
Kenny Florian vs. Diego Nunes
Middleweights: Demian Maia vs. Mark Munoz
Heavyweights (#1 contender’s match): Shane Carwin vs. Junior
dos Santos
Source: Fight Opinion
|
145lbs
Matt Comeau vs. David Padilla
170lbs
Thomas Sedano vs. Bryson Kamaka
155lbs
Kris Kyle vs. Brensen Hansen
140lbs
Monica Franco vs. Rachael Ostovich
170lbs
Bruski Louis vs. L. John Borges
Heavyweight
Doug Hiu vs. Blayn Wagoner
155lbs
Eric Dean vs. Ryan Delacruz
135lbs
Drake Fujimoto vs. Jared Iha
125lbs
Keenin Cohen vs. Joey Balai
Heavyweight
Chris Bernard vs. Terrence Taanoa
185lbs
Apuauro Turano vs. Ezekiel Gonda
165lbs
Justin Burgess vs. Jacob Chun
145lbs
Nathan Maglinti vs. Cassius Kegler
125lbs
Jared Gonda vs. Jason Dumoal
135lbs
Kevin Natividad vs. Kolten Choy Foo
Source: 808 Battleground
|
MAN
UP & STAND UP TODAY
WAIPAHU FILCOM CENTER
SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2011
DOORS OPEN AT 6:00
Here we go again with another Man-up & Stand-up getting ready
to blow the top off of the Waipahu Filcom on May 28. If you love
to watch guys who stand and bang then this is the event for you.
There will be 5 title defenses with the main event featuring
two undefeated giants meeting in the middle of the ring to see
who will walk out with the super heavyweight title. Eric “The
Executioner” Edwards is gonna defend his title against another
westsider named Ben Boyce that has never left the ring without
the referee raising his hand. Eric is definitely the seasoned
veteran who executes every weapon in his arsenal to its full
potential. Ben is the fearless newcomer that welcomes any challenge.
He is built like a stonewall and hopes he wears the same size
shoes as Eric because they are some big shoes to fill. Make sure
you’re there to see if the Executioner has what it takes
to bring down a stonewall.
Two mma fighters will test their stand up skills with light heavyweight
champion Jessie Lindley battling Miller Ualesei. Everyone knows
Jessie for his right hook which helped him snatch the belt from
the former champion Charles Hazelwood. If you weren’t there
then you missed out a great display of pain endurance. Jessie
took leg kick after leg kick just to land his hands. He’s
as tough as they make them. Miller hasn’t fought too much
kickboxing because he prefers the mma scene and has been doing
very well in mma but has been inactive for a while. Miller had
better find some kind of strategy to breakdown this champion
because this champion can handle some pain. Be there to see what
Miller’s game plan is to turn this champion to former champion
status.
Richard “Hit too Hard” Barnard is back on Man-up &
Stand-up to defend his title. He pursued a mma career after kickboxing
and we all know how that turned out, nah. But he has made his
way back to his roots in hopes of retaining his title against
a hungry muay thai fighter who goes by the name of Solomon Amadeo
who trains under the popular veteran kickboxer Tony Rodrigues
so you know Solomon will be bringing some skills to the table.
Hopefully Richard will be able to avoid what Solomon will be
serving. On a good note, Richard has been training with the legend
that thought Tony Rodrigues. We all know him as Pops so this
fight will be skills vs skills. May the best man win.
Dennis “The Meanest” Montira will also be defending
his title against a person who once held his title, Evan Quizon.
Aawh yeah, you know the speed, the power and the accuracy will
be making a special appearance together in this fight. Dennis
is the shorter of the two but please do not count this hammer
out. He brings the knees, the leg kicks and the hands to the
party with or without an invitation. Evan is a smart fighter
that relies on timing, mistakes and quick counters. Two different
styles, two different sizes with two of them having the same
goal which is to bring the belt back home. Can Evan take back
what was once his or will Dennis have the party on lockdown.
Be there
Also Ethan Kerfoot will finally do battle against Joseph Garcia
for the Middle weight title that is worn by Ethan Kerfoot. These
two young boys were suppose two bang in the last two events.
This time its on like mochi crunch and popcorn. So be sure to
get your tickets and be ready for some stand up action at its
best. Man-up & Stand-up has it all from 6 years old to you
name the age. May 28 at the Waipahu Filcom. Das right.
CAN YOU PLEASE POST THIS VIDEO ON YOUR WEBSITE. THANKS
UPDATED CARD
ERIC EDWARDS 210+ BEN BOYCE
ELYJAH LAGAFUAINA 200 TROY
EDDIE CENTIO 130 ANU REING-ABY
DONTEZ COLEMAN 125 NALU H.
JESSIE LINDLEY 185 MILLER UALESEI
PAUL AUSTRIA 130 NEVADA HARRISON
DENNIS MONTEIRA 130 EVAN QUIZON
CHANCE CERO 65 KONA BOY
JONAH CARTER 60 KAMAKANI WAIALAE
KAYLIN STAFFORD 125 ELIAS VELASCO
JACOB CARTER 55 KOA
PONO MALAMA 150 LANCE BELL
JUSTIN FONOTE 175 SCOTT ENDO
JEFF LAGAMAN 145 KAI KUNITOMO
ITO SUALAAU 185 ROB CONNELL
CHRISTIAN BAUTISTA 170 WALTER WALKER
RICHARD BARNARD 152 SOLOMON AMADEO
SOFA TASALI 220 CYRUSS KONDO
RAYMOND TAFAKA 150 ANDREW QUIZON
RADRAJAH BRAZWELL 85 RAYMOND DAQUEDON
JOSEPH GARCIA 160 ETHAN KERFOOT
NUI WHEELER 145 IKAIKA TAMPOS
All matches & participants may be subject to change.
Source: Derrick Bright
|
HUAWA
Grappling Tournament 2011 Today
Grappling
Series II
Mililani High School Gym, Mililani, Hawaii
May 28, 2011
Multiple
Age & Weight Divisions
Children 6-11 years old free to grapple)
Novice (12-13 years old)
School boys/girls (14-15 years old)
Cadets (16-17 years old)
Juniors (18-19 years old)
Seniors (20 and older)
Entry
Fee $25 online registration
$35 Walk-in registration ends 5/28/11 at 8:30AM
Must have a current 2011 USAW card
USAW card $35 at the door
Weigh-in Friday 6-7PM or Saturday 7:30-8:30AM
Competition starts at 10AM
Contact: John Robinson (808) 381-3048
robinsonj001@hawaii.rr.com
|
UFC
130 Today
MGM Grand
Garden Arena, Las Vegas
May 28, 2011
By Zach Arnold
Hawaii
Air Times:
Preliminaries SPIKE Channel 559
5:00-6:00PM
Event Channel 701
3:00-6:00PM
Dark matches/Spike TV bouts
Bantamweights:
Chris Cariaso vs. Michael McDonald (filling in for Kid Yamamoto)
Lightweights: Cody McKenzie vs. Bart Palaszewski
Middleweights: Kendall Grove vs. Tim Boetsch
Bantamweights: Renan Barao vs. Cole Escovedo
Bantamweights: Miguel Torres vs. Demetrious Johnson
Welterweights: Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story
Main card
Middleweights:
Brian Stann vs. Jorge Santiago
Heavyweights: Stefan Struve vs. Travis Browne
Heavyweights: Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson
Light Heavyweights: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt
Hamill
Source: Fight Opinion
|
UFC
130 Preview: The Main Card
by Jason
Probst
Rampage vs. Hamill
Quinton
“Rampage” Jackson and Matt Hamill now comprise the
main event at UFC 130 on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena
in Las Vegas, and the loss of Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard 3 due
to injuries hits fans hard.
While
this seems likely to impact the pay-per-view buy rate, the stakes
remain the same for the card’s other featured matches. Jackson
and Hamill battle for a key spot in the light heavyweight contender
ranks, while Rick Story and Thiago Alves do the same for a welterweight
slot. A pivotal matchup between Brian Stann and Jorge Santiago
at 185 pounds and a heavyweight tilt pairing Stefan Struve with
Travis Browne round out the lineup.
Here
is the breakdown of the UFC 130 “Jackson vs. Hamill”
main card.
Light
Heavyweights
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt Hamill
The
Matchup: A pair of strong light heavyweights collide in the main
event, with proven veteran Jackson taking on Hamill, whose win
over Tito Ortiz at UFC 121 was probably the biggest of his career.
Jackson
is especially tough against foes that do not rely on smart game
plans to exploit his weaknesses. Like Rashad Evans at UFC 114,
Hamill will have to pick high-percentage spots to shoot for takedowns
and limit heavy exchanges on the feet. If there is any glaring
chink in Rampage’s armor, it is his tendency to want to
slug when he could simply overpower opponents to the mat and
control them there.
Since
his days as a terror in Pride Fighting Championships, where he
slammed opponents with frightening ease, he has largely been
a stand-and-bang type of fighter -- something that cost him against
cerebral-minded foes like Evans, and his title loss to Forrest
Griffin at UFC 86.
Hamill
has his work cut out for him here, and Jackson should be superior
standing. Rampage’s chin is top-notch, and he covers up
and fires back exceptionally well from inside the pocket. Hamill’s
wrestling is solid, but his standup largely serves as a means
for that wrestling to come into the equation. Jackson’s
takedown defense and experience should prove enough to negate
Hamill’s takedowns.
However,
in a three-round fight, you only have to win two of them to take
a decision -- something Evans did with a great game plan. Rampage
showed more patience in his split decision victory over Lyoto
Machida at UFC 123 and remains an underrated technical striker;
his persona and huge bombs overshadow the subtle abilities he
has on the feet. If Rampage is to win, he cannot get sucked into
a headhunting match. Instead, he must be content to pile up points
and force Hamill’s hand.
The
Pick: This is a competitive match that could very well swing
on who gets a critical takedown or telling blow at the end of
a round. Jackson by close decision.
Heavyweights
Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson
The
Matchup: While heavyweights are known more for big-time punching
power and stunning knockouts, Mir and Nelson fall into the well-rounded
category. Nelson has been on the shelf since his one-sided decision
loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC 117, where he showed a chin
worthy of Mount Rushmore. Mir is 3-2 since he submitted Brock
Lesnar in February 2008, as he has shown glimpses of an improved
standup game sandwiched between brutal knockout losses to Lesnar
and Shane Carwin.
In
a heavyweight match, the better wrestler has the obvious edge,
particularly when he is the harder hitter with more proven cardio.
That is Nelson, in case you have not read between the lines.
Do not be fooled by the belly -- “The Ultimate Fighter”
Season 10 winner can dunk a basketball, and he is exceptional
on the mat. Mir’s knockout wins over faded stars like Mirko
“Cro Cop” Filipovic and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira were
admirable showings but must be placed in perspective.
This
is Nelson’s fight to lose. He should be able to keep it
at least even on the feet and will be stronger in the clinch.
Mir’s submission game and guard could pose problems early,
as he is great at exploiting small openings. That said, Nelson
will probably look to wear down Mir on the feet and in the clinch.
The
Pick: Look for Nelson to pick his spots, particularly in tie-ups,
where Mir has shown a tendency to rest. Nelson will not let him,
and he will step on the gas pedal, wearing down Mir for a third-round
stoppage.
Welterweights
Rick Story vs. Thiago Alves
The
Matchup: In a welterweight division virtually barren of marketable
challengers for champion Georges St. Pierre, Story and Alves
have the chance to change that. Hard-charging Story matches up
against talented striker Alves, whose physical gifts and ability
to land bombs from any position make him a must-watch attraction.
Story’s
task is simple: negate Alves’ solid takedown defense and
take away his range and angles. Alves is great at hitting flying
knees and striking in varied combinations, as he mixes in punches
and kicks with impressive accuracy and seamlessness. Story, an
aggressive southpaw with a collegiate wrestling pedigree, is
not afraid to trade and has good conditioning and a stout chin,
but the uglier this gets, the better his chances are.
The
big wild card with Alves is the weight cut and what kind of cardio
he will have after reducing down to the 170-pound. limit. The
tradeoff for being on the extreme end of this kind of dehydration
is that Alves enters the cage around 190 pounds, typically with
a huge size and strength advantage.
Story
should rip a page from Jon Fitch’s book, using pressure,
takedowns and constant exertion in grappling attacks to drain
Alves. On the feet, Alves should be clearly superior, but Story
is game enough to force trades, opening up clinches and takedowns
he can ply to his advantage.
The
Pick: This should be an intensely contested match, with no true
neutral combat range. Alves has a big edge on the feet, Story
in the clinches and on the mat. However, Story’s durability
and hard-charging pace should be just enough to put Alves in
a defensive stance, and if Story gets nailed, he is not going
to fold. Instead, he will come right back at Alves. He will likely
have to take some serious shots to close the gap, but he is going
to be all over Alves and wear him down en route to a clear-cut
decision win.
Heavyweights
Stefan Struve vs. Travis Browne
The
Matchup: Heavyweights are the red-meat offering on a fight card,
and this one is likely to be served up like a rare T-bone, bleeding
all over the plate; not because both are not fairly talented
prospects -- they are -- but because of the sheer size. At 6-foot-7
and 250 pounds, Browne is the small guy in this one, facing the
6-foot-11 Struve. One just hopes the ref can get out of the way
and does not get squashed.
Struve’s
shown exceptional resilience in his UFC career. After a brutal
promotional debut -- a knockout loss to Junior dos Santos at
UFC 95 -- he has since rallied to go 4-1, and at a mere 23 years
old, the Dutchman has a lot of room to literally and figuratively
fill out as a fighter. Browne is a similar proposition, with
a 10-0-1 record, and a solid showing in a draw against veteran
Cheick Kongo in his last bout at UFC 120.
Technically,
Struve is the sharper fighter, while Browne’s size fuels
a somewhat bullying style. Struve is effective at landing punches
down the middle and calm with opponents in his guard. He will
always be a little short on pure strength, due to his lanky frame
and lack of a wrestling background.
A
lot of this bout depends on Browne’s conditioning and whether
or not he can pressure his foe without one of the big turns-of-momentum
Struve found in recent bouts. Seemingly bushwhacked against Christian
Morecraft at UFC 117, Struve hammered Morecraft to win via stoppage
in the second round, and he handled Sean McCorkle at UFC 124
despite getting planted against the cage in the opening moments.
If Browne can bang away and keep Struve on the mat, he wins.
In a standup bout, he could get caught and taken out.
The
Pick: Flip a coin and call it. Brown by close, competitive decision
in a bout with exciting momentum swings.
Middleweights
Brian Stann vs. Jorge Santiago
The
Matchup: Both have improved considerably in recent bouts, with
Stann’s drop to middleweight and a New Year’s Day knockout
of Chris Leben propelling his career. Santiago, meanwhile, has
reeled off a string of impressive wins against tough overseas
competition since exiting the UFC in 2006 after going 1-2. Both
rely on standup to create opportunities and openings; this is
not likely to be a lay-and-pray-style bout.
Santiago
may be the better-rounded kickboxer, but Stann’s game has
tightened up considerably since teaming with maestro trainer
Greg Jackson. His ability to get back to his feet, if taken down,
and prevent Santiago from planting and punishing him on the mat
will be key; light heavyweight foes Phil Davis and Krzysztof
Soszynski exploited his lack of wrestling.
Stann
probably hits harder with his punches and, in the Leben bout,
showed a nice sense of when to lay back and when to explode.
Santiago has shown good conditioning in drawn-out battles, taking
five-round wins in three bouts, including two over the talented
Kazuo Misaki and a decision over Mamed Khalidov -- one of the
best fighters not currently in the UFC.
The
Pick: Stann’s hot right now, and a fighter in his groove
is difficult to beat. However, Santiago might have a little too
much on the feet for him. He is more experienced and proven against
better competition. He will do just enough in an intense, back-and-forth,
mostly standup match to take a decision.
With
the Miguel Torres-Demetrious Johnson and Kendall Grove-Tim Boetsch
bantamweight and middleweight bouts streaming on Facebook, the
UFC 130 prelims offer a glimpse into two divisions decidedly
in flux, at least at the mid-tier contender level.
It
should provide a compelling look at the rebuilding process for
Torres, a former WEC champion who takes on the talented Johnson
in what should be an exciting match at the MGM Grand Garden Arena
in Las Vegas.
Here
is a closer look at the UFC 130 prelims, with a preview and picks.
Bantamweights
Miguel Torres vs. Demetrious Johnson
The
Matchup: Once the terror of the WEC’s bantamweights, Torres
finds himself against “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, a rising
star at 135 pounds. A tall, dangerous striker with outstanding
submissions, Torres’ sole glaring weakness may be overpowering
wrestler-types with fast hands, which is precisely the style
Johnson exemplifies.
It
must have driven a stake into the heart of every fan of the old-school
Japanese scene when “Mighty Mouse” dominated Norifumi
“Kid” Yamamoto in the latter’s UFC debut in February.
Using lightning-quick takedowns and great wrestling chops, Johnson
showed he was a serious handful for the bantamweights in his
stellar win at UFC 126. Throw in wins over Damacio Page and Nick
Pace and a hard-fought decision loss to Brad Pickett prior to
that, and we have a legitimate contender.
Torres
is no easy task, for sure. The 5-foot-9 former champion has a
boatload of experience, sports a 39-3 record and is a master
at finding angles and ranges that work, using these to dictate
how a fight goes. Johnson’s job is to close the gap and
hit takedowns while striking a balance between keeping busy on
the ground and not giving Torres an opening for a submission
or sweep; expect him to push the pace, especially when he takes
down Torres and negates his six-inch height advantage.
Torres
remains an exceptional fighter, and though his consecutive stoppage
losses to Brian Bowles at WEC 42 and Joseph Benavidez at WEC
47 prompted him to shake up his approach and training camps,
this is still a bad style match for him. Essentially, Johnson
only has to win two rounds, which means he will need three to
four effective takedowns while not getting his block knocked
off or blundering into a submission.
The
Pick: Look for Johnson to flit around on the feet a bit before
exploding on Torres and smartly taking it to the mat. Shower,
rinse and repeat, and Johnson closes hard to a unanimous decision.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Pros
Pick: Rampage vs. Hamill
by Mike
Sloan
When
the original main event of Saturday’s UFC 130 card -- the
anticipated third bout between lightweight champion Frankie Edgar
and challenger Gray Maynard -- was scrapped due to both combatants
falling victim to injury, it wasn’t a tough decision to
bump Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Matt Hamill up to
top billing.
At
first blush, the bout might not seem to be worthy enough to be
granted the largest letters on the marquee. However, the loquacious
and somewhat controversial Jackson is on a mission to snatch
back the light heavyweight crown he lost. Hamill is certainly
one of the most promising contenders and a win over Rampage would
definitely put him in the conversation of challenging for Jon
Jones’ title.
Does
Rampage’s vast experience, coupled with his tremendous skillset,
take him to the finish with his hand raised? Or will Hamill pull
off what would amount to a reasonable upset?
Sherdog.com
caught up with dozens of professional fighters and trainers from
around the globe to gauge their opinions on the matchup. Here’s
how the pros picked Rampage-Hamill:
Jason
Von Flue: Matt is tough and all, but Rampage has way too much
experience for him. Rampage by brutal KO in the second round.
Ray
Elbe: Rampage hits Hamill harder than Reggie Jackson with the
bases loaded. Quinton by beatdown sometime in the third round,
after he realizes the mortgage is due on the first of the month.
Ricardo
Liborio: I can see Rampage winning by TKO.
Kultar
Gill: Rampage will knock out Hamill, first round.
Enson
Inoue: Rampage.
Benji
Radach: I'm going to bet on Jackson! Aoowwww!
Jaime
Fletcher: Zzzzzz to this fight, which is what's going to happen
to Hamill at the end.
Sam
Hoger: Rampage isn't “TUF” enough. Rampage is getting
railed and I'm afraid Hamill will not hear Rampage's screams
as he falls to defeat.
Tom
Gavrilos: Hamill’s going to stand with Rampage, constantly
and predictably closing the gap, leaving too many opportunities
for strikes. Rampage has great takedown defense and dynamite
in both hands. If he does manage to take Rampage down, I’m
not that confident that he will be able to keep him there. I
think Rampage not only wins this one, but finishes it. Rampage
by KO.
Jeff
Monson: Rampage by decision.
Jorge
Lopez: I think Rampage is going to knock out Hamill in the first
round via death slam, followed by some Rampage ground-and-pound.
Jason
Lambert: Rampage by TKO.
Yves
Edwards: With Frankie and Gray both being injured and with how
awesome their last fight was, I just want to crawl into a corner
and rock myself to sleep. With Rampage and Hamill fighting, I
don’t care who wins.
Keith
Berry: I think Rampage has a fire lit under his ass since the
whole Rashad fight. I think he will get the better of the standup
and get the TKO in round three. A motivated Rampage is a UFC
champ.
Cesar
Gracie: Rampage by explosiveness. Hamill is tough, but will be
outclassed standing. By the way: I caught a four-pound crappie
today on a spinner bait. Can anyone challenge that? I didn’t
think so.
Javier
Vazquez: This all depends on Rampage. If he took this fight seriously
and comes in shape, he could stop Matt Hamill. If he doesn’t,
he could get upset by “The Hammer.” I have a feeling
on this one: I’m taking Hamill by split decision.
K.J.
Noons: Rampage by left hook, as long as he’s concentrating
on fighting and not movies.
Patrick
Cote: I’ll pick Hamill. I think he will outwrestle Rampage
and win by decision.
Nam
Phan: I say Rampage by powerbomb!
Ron
Foster: Hamill does have the style that can beat Rampage. I think
Matt Hamill wins by decision.
Gabe
Ruediger: Well, I’m sure Hamill's "breath stanks,”
as it seems all of Rampage's opponents have. Even with the breath,
I think Hamill will outwrestle Rampage and win a decision.
Michael
Guymon: Rampage by rampage. I think he has too strong of a takedown
defense. Coupled with Quinton’s power, I see Matt getting
knocked out in the second or third round.
Mike
Ciesnolevicz: I hope Hamill gets a takedown or two to make it
interesting, but I see Rampage being able to neutralize the wrestling
and land some hard hooks and uppercuts for a KO, first round.
Jason
Dent: I'm going with Rampage on this one. I believe his takedown
defense is good enough to stop Hamill and his boxing is better
as well. Looks to be fun fight for the fans.
Tom
Vaughn: Rampage outstrikes Hamill and stuffs takedown attempts
all the way to a unanimous decision. Quinton Jackson by unanimous
decision.
Scott
Jorgensen: I’m gonna go with Hamill. I think he’ll
out-wrestle Rampage and he’s got a ton of heart. Although
a good ol’ fashion slugfest with a few big takedowns won’t
hurt nobody.
Rex
Richards: I don't think that Hamill's wrestling will help him
for this fight. Quinton is too big and strong for Hamill. I see
a second round TKO going Rampage's way. Probably going to be
a nasty one.
Shamar
Bailey: I'd love to see Rampage knock Hamill out. I'm a fan of
both fighters but a Rampage fan for life. However, if Rampage
is to get his arm raised I think he will have to find a way to
get off his back due to Hamill’s takedowns, more than once.
Mike
Constantino: I think that if Hamill can avoid the big punches
of Rampage and weather the storm, he will beat him with wrestling
and by pushing the pace. I have Hamill by decision.
Charlie
Brenneman: I agree with Mike Constantino; he never steers me
wrong. If he says Hamill will win by decision, Hamill will win
by decision.
Jeremy
Luchau: Looking forward to a KO performance from Rampage.
Roli
Delgado: Hamill is just the type of guy to beat Quinton. He's
a grinder and will move forward the whole time. I think Quinton
has the physical tools but is going to get taken down and controlled.
He just never seemed to develop anything past his boxing and
good wrestling. Hamill will outwork him for a late TKO stoppage
or unanimous decision
Matt
Pena: Quinton by KO. Hamill's only chance is to consistently
get the takedown. I think Jackson's wrestling is just good enough
to keep it on his feel long enough to knock Matt out. Although
Hamill has improved over the years in the standup area, it’s
not even close to being effective against the big bangers in
the UFC.
Matt
Hamilton: Rampage by KO or decision.
Pros
picking Rampage: 23
Pros picking Hamill: 9
No Pick: 2
Source:
Sherdog
|
BJ
Penn comments
on his sore shoulder and whether he needs surgery
By Zach
Arnold
This is a really good interview. Before the part I transcribed,
he and Ron Kruck talk about the legacy of Randy Couture and BJ
argues that Randy is the best fighter ever in the history of
the UFC.
Towards the end of the interview, he talks about the new UFC
gym opening up in Waikiki soon and how much input he had in terms
of designing the gym.
RON KRUCK:“When you look at Randy Couture, BJ… do you,
is that something that, when you finally decide to hang it up,
that you would like to go out the way that he did? Because a
lot of times, in any sport, athletes really don’t get to
pick, OK, I’m ready to go out and go out on their own terms.
Do you think he retired the right way and in a way that you would
like to finally retire one day?”
BJ PENN:“You know what? A lot of other fighters out there,
they probably would have went and picked a fight that they would
have known that they would have won and leave on a high note.
But, that’s Randy, that’s the only way he would have
gone out, like that and I probably would kind of think for myself
the same. If Randy would have won, he would be fighting for the
title. He wouldn’t have left, you know… We lost so
many times over the years, you know, we all know that’s
not the first time Randy got knocked but that’s probably
what it’s going to, probably going to take a knockout or
a bad beating to make someone like Randy or someone like me or
a couple other fighters that I know in the UFC say, OK, you know,
I can take it, I’ll walk away now.’
RON KRUCK:“Personally, how long would you like to keep fighting?”
BJ PENN:“You know when I was in my 20s I said I’ll
fight until 40 and this and that… and I don’t know,
everything’s just a blessing now. As long as I keep winning
fighting and fans want to see me fight (and) I’m not hurt,
I’ll fight as long as I can. I’d love to fight until
40, I don’t know if it’s a reality but I’d love
to.”
RON KRUCK:“Your last fight, a draw with Jon Fitch. You know,
I never have entered and competed in the Octagon but I played
team sports all my life and I don’t think anything was worse
than a tie. Is that the same way in MMA with a draw?”
BJ PENN:“I mean, yes, it really is. The first time I got
a draw is with (Kaoru) Uno and I didn’t get to collect that
belt and, it is, it’s just like it leaves you, what now?
It leaves you in a limbo type situation and, you know, then he
got hurt, he hurt his shoulder and my shoulder is bothering me,
too. It’s turned into an ugly situation. My shoulder was
bothering me before Fitch pulled out and, you know, I just was
kind of going to go through with it because the whole thing with
the draw and everything and I figured Fitch had some injuries,
too, you know coming off, we fought off right there and we’re
going to go straight into this. And Fitch ended up pulling out
and getting hurt. The whole time when I was getting ready to
get close to the Fitch fight I was like, how am I going to feel
three months out? How am I going to feel three months out? Fitch
pulls out, so a week or two week later, three months around comes
out and my shoulder’s still sore, you know, and I’m
like… you know what, (get) 100% already, let’s do it.”
RON KRUCK:“You don’t need any surgery or anything like
that?”
BJ PENN:“You know, I got to take another MRI with the contrast
and everything but every time it starts feeling better then I
don’t want to take that thing because I don’t want
to have surgery, you know, but I better go out and I got to just,
for my own peace of mind, I gotta go do that MRI contrast, I’ve
been putting it off too long and the only reason why I’m
putting it off is because I want to fight, I don’t want
to have surgery. I just want to wake up one day and be like,
oh, that thing’s great, right on, Dana, let’s go. You
know?”
RON KRUCK:“You’ve been in the Octagon with the sport’s
best, the top of the top. You don’t have to call any one
out or anything like that, but is there a fight that interests
you before you retire? Maybe, you know, a rematch with someone
or somebody new, maybe an up-and-comer?”
BJ PENN:“You know what? People might think it’s a long
shot from this point out, but I really would like to be the world
champ again at 170 pounds, you know, and I try to hold out as
long as I can and when I get knocked off, because everyone’s
going to get knocked off, I’d love to go back to 155 and
win one more time. If I could do that, I can go to sleep at night.
It would be much easier, you know, I don’t know any specific
names or whoever the champion is at that time, you know. …
I really want to be world champ again. You know, I was watching
Soul Surfer movie the other day, the girl (Bethany Hamilton)
who lost her arm… and if she can go out and keep surfing
professionally, I can go get another world title.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Brazilian
Prospect Silva Makes UFC Debut Against Swick in Rio
by Mike
Whitman
Brazilian
welterweight prospect Erick Silva has signed with the UFC and
will make his promotional debut against Mike Swick at UFC 134.
Sherdog.com
confirmed the match-up on Wednesday morning with a source close
to the contest.
Headlined
by a middleweight title bout between dominant champion Anderson
Silva and the last man to beat him in Yushin Okami, UFC 134 goes
down Aug. 27 from HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The
reigning Jungle Fight welterweight champion, Silva is once-beaten
as a professional in his six-year career, notching a 12-1 record
with one no contest. The X-Gym representative captured the welterweight
strap in October by submitting Francisco Ayon in the championship
tournament final with an arm-triangle choke at Jungle Fight 23.
A
product of the vaunted American Kickboxing Academy, Swick is
a first-season veteran of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Swick
joined the UFC in 2005 as a middleweight and made the cut to
170 pounds in 2008. Since dropping to welterweight, “Quick”
has posted a 4-2 record inside the Octagon, though he currently
rides a two-fight skid.
After
dropping bouts to Dan Hardy and Paulo Thiago, Swick was scheduled
to return to the cage in January to face David Mitchell. However,
after Mitchell withdrew from the bout due to injury, Swick also
pulled out due to a lingering stomach condition.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Dana
White says that Chael Sonnen has been punished harder than Mike
Tyson
By Zach
Arnold
Heavy.com interview
MEGAN OLIVI:“A lot of people have been talking about GSP
& Nick Diaz possibly being coaches (on The Ultimate Fighter).
But besides that, is that fight a done deal? Is that something
you want to see happen”
DANA WHITE:“That fight is not a done deal and I guarantee
you that those two will not be coaches, not even close. All this
stuff that’s out there about that fight and the meeting
that we had here is all.”
MEGAN OLIVI:“All right, fair enough. So we will not be seeing
that at UFC 140 in Montreal?”
DANA WHITE:“No.”
MEGAN OLIVI:“Okay. Now how are these hurdles that you have
to go through to create fights between UFC guys and Strikeforce
guys? Is it a difficult process if you would even want to?”
DANA WHITE:“Yeah, it’s all still a work in progress,
I mean we don’t know, we don’t know how we’re
working this whole thing out. Obviously, we’re still running
Strikeforce fights and, you know, we have this deal with Showtime
but we don’t know how we’re going to handle that type
of a situation. Listen, we want to put on fights that people
want to see but we got to figure out.”
MEGAN OLIVI:“A lot of people have been talking about your
comments regarding Strikeforce when you said ‘we’ll
see if we can keep Strikeforce alive.’ What exactly did
you mean by that? Will it have the same fate as, say, the WEC?”
DANA WHITE:“I have no idea. I mean, obviously we have a
deal with Showtime. We want to continue to put on fights, um…
with Strikeforce. The question is, can we make it work? It has
to make business sense. It didn’t make business sense for
the old owners, we have to make sense of it.”
(Later on in interview…)
MEGAN OLIVI:“If Anthony Pettis defeats Clay Guida at The
Ultimate Fighter finale, where does this leave him? Is he still
next in the line and whoever wins Frankie (Edgar) or Gray (Maynard),
he will get them?”
DANA WHITE:“Absolutely, no he’s definitely in line
and the thing is for a guy like Pettis and I say this about guys
all the time… bad things happen every day and people fall
out and lots of things happen, but you have to stay active, you
have to keep fighting. That kid jumped right in and took a tough
fight against (Clay) Guida. It’s what you’ve got to
do.”
MEGAN OLIVI:“With Frankie Edgar being injured, three other
of your champions are also injured. How do you go about creating
interim titles, if that’s something you want to do?”
DANA WHITE:“The only time we do an interim title is when
we’re unsure how long a guy’s going to be out and a
guy we don’t want to strip, you know, he’s got something
unfortunate that happens to him… you know, we just don’t
throw interim titles just because somebody broke their hand or
something.”
MEGAN OLIVI:“A guy that has been talked about a lot is Jon
Jones, who is also injured. What do you kind of think about that
drama between him and Rashad (Evans)?”
DANA WHITE:“Yeah, um… you know, they went from not
fighting each other because they were good friends to, you know,
ready to fight each other anywhere they bump into each other.
Funny how that turned around so quick. Heh heh.”
MEGAN OLIVI:“Do you think you’ll still make that fight,
even if Rashad loses to Phil Davis?”
DANA WHITE:“I don’t know, we’ll see. To predict
what we’ll do if this guy wins, if that guys loses, I never
know. We gotta to see what happens.”
MEGAN OLIVI:“All right, let’s talk about Chael Sonnen.
What’s his kind of status in the UFC right now?”
DANA WHITE:“I’m pretty bummed out about the Chael Sonnen
thing and the way that the whole thing was handled. You know,
this guy… I don’t know if there’s ever been a
penalty laid down, I mean Tyson, I think when Tyson bit the ear,
Tyson got a year. Um… it’s pretty crazy.”
MEGAN OLIVI:“You know, he said that you told him if he can’t
licensed, he has to retire. Is there any truth to that?”
DANA WHITE:“Um… listen, it’s not that he’d
have to retire, but right now was his opportunity. This kid had
the opportunity to coach The Ultimate Fighter, he had the opportunity
to get a big fight set up, should he win that fight… everybody
knows what happened with Anderson Silva, this was a key moment
in this kid’s career and me, personally, you know, you’ve
heard me say it for the last almost 11 years, we always support
whatever the athletic commission says… This kid got, this
kid got it stuck to him, man. He paid his dues in every way shape
and forum and, uh… I think he’s been treated a bit
unfairly.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Dana
White: What Happened to Chael Sonnen Is Insane
by Ken
Pishna
Unless you’ve been under a rock somewhere the past couple
of weeks, you’ve undoubtedly been inundated by the coverage
of Chael Sonnen’s latest attempt to get his license reinstated
in California, and the controversy that has swirled around the
case.
Sonnen was suspended following a drug test for his UFC 117 bout
with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, testing hot for
elevated levels of testosterone. The case swirled as Sonnen said
he disclosed testosterone as a treatment for a condition called
hypogonadism to California State Athletic Commission executive
director George Dodd, although he didn’t follow the proper
procedure in doing so.
He faced a hearing in December, where his one-year suspension
was reduced to six months and a $2,500 fine was upheld by the
CSAC.
Following his time served, Sonnen applied for a license in Nevada,
but then, all of a sudden, he was put under an administrative
suspension in California. Dodd told MMAWeekly.com the more recent
suspension was because of questions about Sonnen’s recent
conviction for a Federal money laundering charge in Oregon and
“his (December) testimony (about) his discussion that he
had with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.”
The end result of a new hearing in May? Sonnen was left under
suspension until June 29, 2011. The day after the hearing, he
was told that he would also not be allowed to apply for a new
license until June of 2012. The athletic commission then backtracked
on that decision, issuing a statement that it had incorrectly
interpreted a California regulation, and saying that Sonnen would
be able to re-apply after June 29, 2011.
Most in attendance at the hearing came away with the impression
that, from the onset, Sonnen was not going to sway the commission
in his favor.
UFC president Dana White, following Wednesday’s UFC 130
prefight press conference, didn’t mince words when MMAWeekly.com
asked him about the hearing.
“I’m not a big fan of how that turned out… at
all. I think what happened to Chael Sonnen is absolutely insane.
It’s unjust. It’s unfair.”
White confirmed that Sonnen, had he been reinstated, was in line
to coach the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter”
opposite Michael Bisping with the two squaring off following
the season’s conclusion. A victory might have propelled
him into another title shot against Anderson Silva, whom Sonnen
bested for the better part of four and a half rounds in their
first battle, before succumbing to Silva’s submission prowess.
“He has an opportunity where he could come in, he could
coach a show. If he wins that fight, he could move on and possibly
get another fight with Anderson Silva.
“They have this window of opportunity where they can actually
make some money. He’s right there. He’s in that position,”
said White.
“That opportunity was taken away from him in a way that
I think was amazingly, incredibly unfair.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Ready
for Hamill, ‘Rampage’ Planning for Future After Fighting
by Mike
Whitman
Never let it be said that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
does not have an exit strategy.
In
the lead-up to his pivotal UFC 130 confrontation with Matt Hamill,
the former UFC 205-pound champion has remarked that he would
like to retire by the age of 35 to pursue other endeavors, a
statement that he stood by at Wednesday’s pre-fight press
conference in Las Vegas.
“I
made mind up when I first started fighting that I wasn’t
going to fight past 35. When I hit 35, I feel like I’ll
be an old man in this sport,” Jackson, 32, told the media
in attendance.
“I’ve
got a lot of things I want to do. I’ve got these finger-paint
things I love doing. I’m actually getting good at it now.
I made a peacock the other day, and it was very beautiful,”
Jackson joked. “So, when I retire, I think I’ll be
making a lot of finger-paints and putting them around the house.
I might sell some on eBay. If y’all are interested in it,
let me know. I’ll make more.”
Finger-painting
skills notwithstanding, a more realistic means of income when
Jackson’s fighting career concludes might come from his
work as an actor. Jackson (Pictured; file photo) has already
starred in the 2010 film adaptation of the popular 1980s TV series
“The A-Team,” as well as filling a cameo role in a
2006 episode of “The King of Queens.”
Before
he reaches full-time actor status, however, Jackson will need
to take care of business against Hamill, a heavy-handed, three-time
NCAA Division III national wrestling champion who rides a five-fight
win streak into their May 28 showdown at the MGM Grand Garden
Arena in Las Vegas.
“Matt
Hamill is a very worthy opponent. He’s a great wrestler
and he’s really tough,” said Jackson. “I really
enjoy being the underdog most of the time, but I just take fights
as they come. Matt can have underdog status this time. I’ll
give it to him.”
Though
Hamill presents a tough and dangerous test for the former champion,
Jackson claimed that he is well-prepared thanks to conquering
another battle that has plagued him in the recent past: his weight.
“Coming
in a little lighter just helps my weight cut. When I used to
fight in Pride, I was a single parent and I used to eat fast
food all the time, and I would have to cut 15 pounds before every
fight,” explained Jackson. “I really got sick of that
over the years, so I got accustomed to just cutting like six
pounds since I’ve been in the UFC. But, recently, I’ve
been blowing up between my fights and being real lazy. I’m
sick and tired of that lifestyle.”
Jackson
specifically felt the negative effects of this way of living
when he was unexpectedly asked to fight then-light heavyweight
champ Mauricio Rua in March after Rashad Evans was forced to
withdraw from UFC 128. Out of shape, Rampage declined the offer,
a fact that he says served as motivation for his upcoming bout
with Hamill.
“I
really regret getting heavy after my November fight [with Lyoto
Machida], because I couldn't fight ‘Shogun’ when Rashad
got injured. That was a kick in the ass for me,” said Jackson.
“I was really excited about getting in shape for this fight.
I haven’t seen my abs for a long time. When you’re
a professional athlete and you’re disgusted when you look
in the mirror, that’s embarrassing. So, I’m going to
try to keep my weight down.”
With
Jackson’s renewed dedication to keeping his waistline in
line, the fighter might just extend his self-imposed retirement
deadline. However, Jackson asserted that he would continue to
fight only out of the desire to provide for his loved ones; his
hope remains that he will be able to stick to his own timeline.
“I
always wanted to retire at 35, but if need be, I’ll keep
fighting. I keep it real about what’s driving me to do what
I do. I want to put my little sister through college and I want
what’s best for her,” said Jackson. “I want my
mom to drive a nice car and live in a nice house, and I want
my dad to have the same. So, if I’m 35 and it’s necessary
for me to fight, I will. But I would like to retire at 35 to
do other things.
“I
see so many pro-wrestlers and football players and boxers that
don’t have anything after their careers are over. I have
kids who I have to look after. I want to put some of them through
college, and with some of my kids, I’m going to need lawyers’
fees. Y’all laugh, but it’s true.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
Tomorrow
145lbs
Matt Comeau vs. David Padilla
170lbs
Thomas Sedano vs. Bryson Kamaka
155lbs
Kris Kyle vs. Brensen Hansen
140lbs
Monica Franco vs. Rachael Ostovich
170lbs
Bruski Louis vs. L. John Borges
Heavyweight
Doug Hiu vs. Blayn Wagoner
155lbs
Eric Dean vs. Ryan Delacruz
135lbs
Drake Fujimoto vs. Jared Iha
125lbs
Keenin Cohen vs. Joey Balai
Heavyweight
Chris Bernard vs. Terrence Taanoa
185lbs
Apuauro Turano vs. Ezekiel Gonda
165lbs
Justin Burgess vs. Jacob Chun
145lbs
Nathan Maglinti vs. Cassius Kegler
125lbs
Jared Gonda vs. Jason Dumoal
135lbs
Kevin Natividad vs. Kolten Choy Foo
Source: 808 Battleground
|
MAN
UP & STAND UP TOMORROW
WAIPAHU FILCOM CENTER
SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2011
DOORS OPEN AT 6:00
Here we go again with another Man-up & Stand-up getting ready
to blow the top off of the Waipahu Filcom on May 28. If you love
to watch guys who stand and bang then this is the event for you.
There will be 5 title defenses with the main event featuring
two undefeated giants meeting in the middle of the ring to see
who will walk out with the super heavyweight title. Eric “The
Executioner” Edwards is gonna defend his title against another
westsider named Ben Boyce that has never left the ring without
the referee raising his hand. Eric is definitely the seasoned
veteran who executes every weapon in his arsenal to its full
potential. Ben is the fearless newcomer that welcomes any challenge.
He is built like a stonewall and hopes he wears the same size
shoes as Eric because they are some big shoes to fill. Make sure
you’re there to see if the Executioner has what it takes
to bring down a stonewall.
Two mma fighters will test their stand up skills with light heavyweight
champion Jessie Lindley battling Miller Ualesei. Everyone knows
Jessie for his right hook which helped him snatch the belt from
the former champion Charles Hazelwood. If you weren’t there
then you missed out a great display of pain endurance. Jessie
took leg kick after leg kick just to land his hands. He’s
as tough as they make them. Miller hasn’t fought too much
kickboxing because he prefers the mma scene and has been doing
very well in mma but has been inactive for a while. Miller had
better find some kind of strategy to breakdown this champion
because this champion can handle some pain. Be there to see what
Miller’s game plan is to turn this champion to former champion
status.
Richard “Hit too Hard” Barnard is back on Man-up &
Stand-up to defend his title. He pursued a mma career after kickboxing
and we all know how that turned out, nah. But he has made his
way back to his roots in hopes of retaining his title against
a hungry muay thai fighter who goes by the name of Solomon Amadeo
who trains under the popular veteran kickboxer Tony Rodrigues
so you know Solomon will be bringing some skills to the table.
Hopefully Richard will be able to avoid what Solomon will be
serving. On a good note, Richard has been training with the legend
that thought Tony Rodrigues. We all know him as Pops so this
fight will be skills vs skills. May the best man win.
Dennis “The Meanest” Montira will also be defending
his title against a person who once held his title, Evan Quizon.
Aawh yeah, you know the speed, the power and the accuracy will
be making a special appearance together in this fight. Dennis
is the shorter of the two but please do not count this hammer
out. He brings the knees, the leg kicks and the hands to the
party with or without an invitation. Evan is a smart fighter
that relies on timing, mistakes and quick counters. Two different
styles, two different sizes with two of them having the same
goal which is to bring the belt back home. Can Evan take back
what was once his or will Dennis have the party on lockdown.
Be there
Also Ethan Kerfoot will finally do battle against Joseph Garcia
for the Middle weight title that is worn by Ethan Kerfoot. These
two young boys were suppose two bang in the last two events.
This time its on like mochi crunch and popcorn. So be sure to
get your tickets and be ready for some stand up action at its
best. Man-up & Stand-up has it all from 6 years old to you
name the age. May 28 at the Waipahu Filcom. Das right.
CAN YOU PLEASE POST THIS VIDEO ON YOUR WEBSITE. THANKS
UPDATED CARD
ERIC EDWARDS 210+ BEN BOYCE
ELYJAH LAGAFUAINA 200 TROY
EDDIE CENTIO 130 ANU REING-ABY
DONTEZ COLEMAN 125 NALU H.
JESSIE LINDLEY 185 MILLER UALESEI
PAUL AUSTRIA 130 NEVADA HARRISON
DENNIS MONTEIRA 130 EVAN QUIZON
CHANCE CERO 65 KONA BOY
JONAH CARTER 60 KAMAKANI WAIALAE
KAYLIN STAFFORD 125 ELIAS VELASCO
JACOB CARTER 55 KOA
PONO MALAMA 150 LANCE BELL
JUSTIN FONOTE 175 SCOTT ENDO
JEFF LAGAMAN 145 KAI KUNITOMO
ITO SUALAAU 185 ROB CONNELL
CHRISTIAN BAUTISTA 170 WALTER WALKER
RICHARD BARNARD 152 SOLOMON AMADEO
SOFA TASALI 220 CYRUSS KONDO
RAYMOND TAFAKA 150 ANDREW QUIZON
RADRAJAH BRAZWELL 85 RAYMOND DAQUEDON
JOSEPH GARCIA 160 ETHAN KERFOOT
NUI WHEELER 145 IKAIKA TAMPOS
All matches & participants may be subject to change.
Source: Derrick Bright
|
HUAWA
Grappling Tournament 2011
Tomorrow
Grappling
Series II
Mililani High School Gym, Mililani, Hawaii
May 28, 2011
Multiple
Age & Weight Divisions
Children 6-11 years old free to grapple)
Novice (12-13 years old)
School boys/girls (14-15 years old)
Cadets (16-17 years old)
Juniors (18-19 years old)
Seniors (20 and older)
Entry
Fee $25 online registration
$35 Walk-in registration ends 5/28/11 at 8:30AM
Must have a current 2011 USAW card
USAW card $35 at the door
Weigh-in Friday 6-7PM or Saturday 7:30-8:30AM
Competition starts at 10AM
Contact: John Robinson (808) 381-3048
robinsonj001@hawaii.rr.com
|
UFC
130 Tomorrow
MGM Grand
Garden Arena, Las Vegas
May 28, 2011
By Zach Arnold
Hawaii
Air Times:
Preliminaries SPIKE Channel 559
5:00-6:00PM
Event Channel 701
3:00-6:00PM
Dark matches/Spike TV bouts
Bantamweights:
Chris Cariaso vs. Michael McDonald (filling in for Kid Yamamoto)
Lightweights: Cody McKenzie vs. Bart Palaszewski
Middleweights: Kendall Grove vs. Tim Boetsch
Bantamweights: Renan Barao vs. Cole Escovedo
Bantamweights: Miguel Torres vs. Demetrious Johnson
Welterweights: Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story
Main card
Middleweights:
Brian Stann vs. Jorge Santiago
Heavyweights: Stefan Struve vs. Travis Browne
Heavyweights: Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson
Light Heavyweights: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt
Hamill
Source: Fight Opinion
|
UFC
130 Preview: The Prelims
by Jason Probst
Torres vs. Johnson
With
the Miguel Torres-Demetrious Johnson and Kendall Grove-Tim Boetsch
bantamweight and middleweight bouts streaming on Facebook, the
UFC 130 prelims offer a glimpse into two divisions decidedly
in flux, at least at the mid-tier contender level.
It
should provide a compelling look at the rebuilding process for
Torres, a former WEC champion who takes on the talented Johnson
in what should be an exciting match at the MGM Grand Garden Arena
in Las Vegas.
Here
is a closer look at the UFC 130 prelims, with a preview and picks.
Bantamweights
Miguel Torres vs. Demetrious Johnson
The
Matchup: Once the terror of the WEC’s bantamweights, Torres
finds himself against “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, a rising
star at 135 pounds. A tall, dangerous striker with outstanding
submissions, Torres’ sole glaring weakness may be overpowering
wrestler-types with fast hands, which is precisely the style
Johnson exemplifies.
It
must have driven a stake into the heart of every fan of the old-school
Japanese scene when “Mighty Mouse” dominated Norifumi
“Kid” Yamamoto in the latter’s UFC debut in February.
Using lightning-quick takedowns and great wrestling chops, Johnson
showed he was a serious handful for the bantamweights in his
stellar win at UFC 126. Throw in wins over Damacio Page and Nick
Pace and a hard-fought decision loss to Brad Pickett prior to
that, and we have a legitimate contender.
Torres
is no easy task, for sure. The 5-foot-9 former champion has a
boatload of experience, sports a 39-3 record and is a master
at finding angles and ranges that work, using these to dictate
how a fight goes. Johnson’s job is to close the gap and
hit takedowns while striking a balance between keeping busy on
the ground and not giving Torres an opening for a submission
or sweep; expect him to push the pace, especially when he takes
down Torres and negates his six-inch height advantage.
Torres
remains an exceptional fighter, and though his consecutive stoppage
losses to Brian Bowles at WEC 42 and Joseph Benavidez at WEC
47 prompted him to shake up his approach and training camps,
this is still a bad style match for him. Essentially, Johnson
only has to win two rounds, which means he will need three to
four effective takedowns while not getting his block knocked
off or blundering into a submission.
The
Pick: Look for Johnson to flit around on the feet a bit before
exploding on Torres and smartly taking it to the mat. Shower,
rinse and repeat, and Johnson closes hard to a unanimous decision.
Middleweights
Kendall
Grove vs.
Tim Boetsch
The
Matchup: Boetsch drops to 185 pounds to takes on Grove, a staple
in the division. In a definite crossroads bout for both, Boetsch’s
wrestling and aggression match up against Grove’s height
and submissions ability. Both are known for exciting bouts, so
do not go to the fridge for this one.
Boetsch,
3-3 in the UFC at 205 pounds, should translate well at middleweight,
especially in a debut bout against Grove, who is not a power-wrestler
type.
Since
Randy Couture kicked off the trend in 2003 by going down in weight,
it has become the expected move when a fighter gets mixed results
and needs to jumpstart his career. Boetsch, who often appeared
a tad undersized and fleshy compared to fellow 205-pounders,
is the latest to make the move. However, there are generally
two kinds of stories here: wrestlers who drop down a weight class,
and everyone else, with the former handling it better simply
because they have years of experience cutting the pounds.
Given
room to operate and decide when the bout will hit the mat, Boetsch
should be able to close the gap on Grove and take it down. He
will have to be careful working in both the clinches and in Grove’s
guard; at 6-foot-6 the Hawaiian creates leverage and opportunities
to attack from unique angles.
The
Pick: Boetsch should be able to pull out a blue-collar type of
win, grinding out a close decision or late stoppage. The key
factor will be getting it to the mat early; in scrambles and
fast-paced trades, Grove is proficient at creating opportunities
and scoring in those situations.
Lightweights
Gleison Tibau vs. Rafaello Oliveira
The
Matchup: A physically imposing 155-pounder, Tibau is about as
large a lightweight as there is at fight time. Using improved
striking and an overpowering style, he likes to grind down opponents.
Oliveira
returns on short notice, in place of International Fight League
veteran and WEC import Bart Palaszewski. Released by the UFC
in March 2010 following a decision defeat to Andre Winner, the
29-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has rattled off four
straight wins since.
If
there is a difference here, it is Tibau’s size and wrestling.
The American Top Team representative has shown a gift for piling
up points and mixing in takedowns to win rounds in recent outings,
so this is pretty much his fight to lose. He should score on
the feet, using jabs and dirty boxing in close, and then switch
gears by hitting takedowns, camping on top and scoring more.
The
Pick: Tibau is the superior fighter on paper and has more ways
through which to achieve victory. He takes a decision.
Bantamweights
Chris Cariaso vs. Michael McDonald
The
Matchup: A slam-bang battle of bantamweight prospects awaits
here. Cariaso and McDonald could very well put up a “Fight
of the Night” candidate in a fast-paced bout with plenty
of momentum swings and exciting moments.
McDonald
looked great in his last fight, a decision over Edwin Figueroa
at UFC Fight Night 24, and holds a 2-0 mark under the Zuffa LLC
banner. Like McDonald, Cariaso won his promotional debut, with
a decision over Will Campuzano, and was 1-1 in two WEC appearances.
McDonald’s
superior hands should prove the difference here, albeit a small
one that Cariaso may be able to overcome with wrestling. A faster
pace favors McDonald, and if he is able to be aggressive and
force his kind of fight, along with intense exchanges, he can
win it.
The
Pick: McDonald by third-round stoppage.
Bantamweights
Renan “Barao” vs. Cole Escovedo
The
Matchup: Escovedo’s debut in the UFC is a feelgood story,
especially for fans of the West Coast scene who have tracked
his career. After a staph infection put his career on hold for
nearly three years, he returned in 2009.
Barao
is a product of the booming Brazilian MMA scene, where prospects
with eye-popping records are more common than anywhere else in
the world. With a 25-1 ledger and a 2-0 record in the WEC, he
is quite talented and experienced -- a great combination when
you are just 24.
With
solid standup and a well-rounded submission game, Barao’s
tough to beat if you are not an elite takedown artist with a
stifling top game, and Escovedo is not. Instead, Escovedo will
have to trade on the feet to Barao’s liking and may have
trouble dictating where the fight takes place.
The
Pick: Watch for Barao to mix strikes to soften up Escovedo before
closing hard for a stoppage win in the second or third round.
Reader
comments are active below. Chime in with an opinion or thought
by signing in with your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Yahoo! account.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Thiago
Alves’ UFC 130 Message to Rick Story: “Be Careful What
You Wish For”
by Damon
Martin
Thiago Alves has never been in the business of calling other
fighters out.
Sure, he’s asked for a title shot like any top ranked welterweight,
but the Brazilian doesn’t believe in calling out anybody
for a fight, he just fights the best in the world and whoever
the UFC puts in the cage with him.
So it was a little surprising to Alves when he heard that Rick
Story was calling him out for a fight. Sure, Story has gone 5-1
in the UFC, and is on the rise in the welterweight division,
so in many ways Alves took the statement as a compliment.
In other ways, however, it fired Alves up, and that’s a
flame that Story might not like too much.
“That’s not my style, I don’t call anybody out.
If you want to be the best, you’ve got to fight the best,
but I feel flattered in a way that I know he wants to become
the champion one day. He wants to fight the best competition
out there,” Alves told MMAWeekly Radio.
“But in the same way there’s a little bitter taste
in my mouth. Like is this kid for real? He wants to fight me,
calling me out like that? Be careful what you wish for. I’m
training like a maniac, I’m training like I’ve never
trained before. He’s going to get the best Thiago Alves
ever, so I hope he’s training his ass off.”
Alves has hit new levels since working with nutrition coach Mike
Dolce. After failing to make weight for his 2010 fight against
Jon Fitch, Alves knew he had to make a major change. He did that
by adding the nutritional guru to his camp prior to his last
fight against John Howard.
What resulted was a more in shape, fully fueled Thiago Alves
that went on to dominate Howard for three rounds, earning a lopsided
decision win. Now two camps in with Dolce, who also lives with
Alves when it gets this close to the fight, the Brazilian is
ready for version 2.0 to be unleashed on Saturday night.
“I’m better with more upgrades than before, but with
the experience that I have and everything I’ve learned throughout
this process throughout my career, I’m a new Thiago right
now. I truly feel like I’m just getting started again. I’m
just 27 years old. I’ve got I’d say at least eight
years ahead of me, so I’m very, very excited. I feel like
a little kid again,” Alves said.
The training for the fight has been great, but not without a
few bumps in the road. Just as Alves was getting in the groove
to begin his workouts for Story, a major change took place at
his home camp, American Top Team.
Some of Alves’ longtime training partners left the gym and
started their own team just up the road in Florida. Jorge Santiago,
who also fights at UFC 130, Gesias ‘JZ’ Cavalcante,
Danillo Villefort, and Yuri Villefort, all left the gym amidst
disagreements with the leadership at the camp.
Alves
admits that not having those guys around was tough, and it will
always be tough, but luckily American Top Team picked up the
pieces and provided him with the weapons he needed to get ready
for Story.
“Those guys are like my brothers and I’m used to seeing
them every day. Especially Jorge Santiago and JZ, we’re
here since the foundation of American Top Team. We’re not
just friends inside of the gym, but outside of the gym we used
to hang out all the time. Then Danillo and Yuri joined in too,
we became a big family. We left our families in Brazil and we
gained a new family here, where we had each other,” Alves
said.
“I guess what they did it was better for them. I’m
not happy, I don’t agree with their decision, but I respect
their decision. Whatever you’ve got to do to be more comfortable,
to have peace of mind, I’m with you. But I’m not happy
I don’t have my brothers inside of my house anymore.”
The management at American Top Team reassured Alves that he would
not miss a step in his training camp, and brought in several
training partners.
“You couldn’t ask for better training partners, but
that’s the great thing about American Top Team, my manager,
Mr. Dan Lambert, he’s a great guy, he’s the Godfather.
I owe everything that I accomplished in this sport, I owe to
him, and when the guys decided to leave he called me and was
like, ‘Thiago I just want to let you know that nothing’s
going to miss, you’re not going to miss anything,”
Alves stated.
“This truly is the best training camp I ever had. They’re
bringing in tough guys, and guys that have actually beat Rick
Story before. I’m training with Nathan Coy, who’s a
Strikeforce fighter, amazing guy, Olympic level wrestler, and
now he’s a part of American Top Team. I’m training
with Jason High. Everybody knows Jason High, very, very tough
southpaw. I truly believe I’ve been training with guys that
are much better than Rick Story.”
Put everything together and Alves believes that Story is in for
a rude awakening when they meet in the Octagon on Saturday night.
“He says he wants to stand up with me. Let’s see if
he can back up the talk,” Alves said.
“It’s going to be a very early night for him.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Another
chapter in the directionless, curious UFC feud between Rashad
Evans & Jon Jones
By Zach
Arnold
KENNY RICE:“First off, let’s clear the air, that’s
what we do here. No innuendos, no Internet gossip. What happened?
Rashad Evans, Jon Jones meet up in a night club in Las Vegas,
a few words were exchanged. What were those words? What really
happened?”
RASHAD EVANS:“What really happened was just that, you know,
me and Jon was in the same area, we’re at the same table
with a bunch of other fighters and, you know, he said, ‘can
I speak to you privately?’ So, we stepped to the side and
we spoke privately and, you know, privately first thing he says
is like, ‘Listen, I want to clear the air,’ and I’m
thinking like, ah, you know, this is cool, young guy’s being
very mature about the whole thing. And then he starts off by
saying, ‘You know, I think things are going too far, but
I want to be the first to tell you that I’m going to destroy
you, I’m going to show that you’re washed up in the
sport, I’m going to show that I am the best Light Heavyweight
ever and I’m going to show what the new breed of fighting
is and you’re going to be my first highlight knockout.’
And I was just… I like, at first I was like, did he just
really say this? So I could nothing but just like laugh and then
I’m just like, heh heh, I was like, ‘How do you figure
so?’ And he said, ‘Well, because when were training
you know I would catch you with elbows and I would catch with
knees here and there,’ and I’m like, ‘dude, I
was hoping you’d get ready for Ryan Bader, I wasn’t
trying to beat you, I wasn’t trying to really go at you,
I was just trying to help you.’ And I said, ‘but you
do remember when I went with you and I held you down and I slapped
you and punched in the face and I was beating you in practice
and you begged me, can you get up, and then I said if you quit
now you’ll quit in the fight, so I made you work back up
to your feet, you remember that?’ and he’s like, ‘yeah.’
So, I mean, we just went back and forth for a while. But the
whole thing I said to him is like this, I said Jon, ‘you
know, I know you believe what you believe and that’s great
that you believe it, but given the opportunity that you had to
fight me you chose not to and that’s the bottom line, you
chose not to fight me. I was there to fight you, I said I’ll
fight you, you chose not to fight me. So, it kind of like ended
there.”
KENNY RICE:“That was it, but no pushing? No screaming?”
RASHAD EVANS:“No, it was actually a pretty controlled conversation
like neither one of us got to the point where it was like any
blows were going to be fired or anything like that. When it came
down to that, he just ended up leaving the table area and going
home or going wherever, but it was never to the point where we
were going to fight each other.”
KENNY RICE:“Okay, we did by the way try to get in touch
with Jon Jones and asked if he would like to comment on the situation.
He has decline at this time, so we got Rashad’s side of
the story.”
RASHAD EVANS:“Yeah, I mean…”
KENNY RICE:“Nothing broken? No lamps knocked down, no waitresses
thrown through a window, so everything is good.”
RASHAD EVANS:“Yeah, I mean with Jon, it’s this right
here: Jon is a young guy and, you know, he’s on top of the
world right now and everybody’s telling him he’s as
great as this and great as that… and it’s hard to not
to let that seep in for anybody, you know. You try to be humble
but at the same time when you’re told that you’re this
and you’re that and how great you are, it’ll seep in
(even) the most humble person’s body.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
The
forgotten UFC June 2011 non-PPV fight cards
By Zach
Arnold
Ultimate Fighter Finale (TUF 13) 6/4 Las Vegas (The Pearl at
The Palms)
Bantamweights: Reuben Duran vs. Francisco Rivera
Lightweights: Danny Downes vs. Jeremy Stephens
Bantamweights: Scott Jorgensen vs. Ken Stone
Featherweights: Josh Grispi vs. George Roop
Middleweights: Ed Herman vs. Tim Credeur
Light Heavyweights: Kyle Kingsbury vs. Fabio Maldonado
Lightweights: Clay Guida vs. Anthony Pettis
UFC Live on Versus 6/26 Pittsburgh (CONSOL Energy Center)
Welterweights: Charlie Brenneman vs. TJ Grant
Lightweights: Michael Johnson vs. Edward Faaloloto
Lightweights: Ricardo Lamas vs. Matt Grice
Lightweights: Nik Lentz vs. Charles Oliveira
Welterweights: Matt Brown vs. Rich Attonito
Lightweights: Joe Lauzon vs. Curt Warburton
Lightweights: Joe Stevenson vs. Javier Vazquez
Featherweights: Tyson Griffin vs. Manny Gamburyan
Heavyweights: Matt Mitrione vs. Christian Morecraft
Welterweights: Martin Kampmann vs. John Howard
Heavyweights: Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry
Welterweights: Nate Marquardt vs. Anthony “Rumble”
Johnson
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Strikeforce
Heavyweight Josh Barnett Turns to Metal for Japan Disaster Relief
Everyone is well aware of the disastrous earthquakes and tsunami
that struck Japan just a few short weeks ago. There’s also
been a growing concern about radiation leaks from the damaged
nuclear power plants in Japan as well.
While the news about the catastrophe has died down, the need
for help hasn’t.
Current Strikeforce heavyweight Josh Barnett is a fighter with
strong ties to Japan. Both in the mixed martial arts and professional
wrestling worlds, Barnett has long worked off and on in Japan
and has adopted much of its culture into his everyday life.
To say he has much concern and compassion for those suffering
in Japan would be an understatement. And he’s decided to
do something about it.
A longtime metalhead, Barnett has pulled together a benefit concert
in Hollywood, Calif., to help raise funds for the Red Cross relief
efforts in Japan. The concert is scheduled for May 26 at the
House of Blues.
Barnett posted the following on The Underground, announcing the
event:
Everyone by now is aware of the recent devastation suffered by
Japan and it’s people from the earthquakes, tsunami and
even radiation issues. As someone who has been working and even
sometimes living in Japan I felt compelled to try and help in
whatever way I could. One phone call and small idea turned into
many and a big concert at the House of Blues in Hollywood, “The
Sun Forever Rising.” The media may have moved on to royal
weddings and celebrity gossip, but I and others haven’t
forgotten about those still struggling across the Pacific.
Many great people have come together to help make this a reality
and I am very proud to present not only an amazing show, but
all for a great cause. The Red Cross has given me their endorsement
and all the net proceeds will be going to them. Every single
cent I can raise I want to put to use to help a country mend
its wounds.
Being as metal as I am, a heavy metal concert just made the most
sense! Headlining will be All Shall Perish with Animals As Leaders,
Cattle Decapitation, Abysmal Dawn, Internal Corrosion, and Thrown
Into Exile.
If you can, please come out, show your support and rock out with
us. If not then you can still help by donating to the Red Cross
and donating to “Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Warren
Defends FW Title Against ‘Pitbull’ at Bellator 47
by Mike
Whitman
Bellator
Fighting Championships featherweight champion Joe Warren has
made it known that he intends to hold two titles simultaneously,
as evidenced by his entry into the promotion’s upcoming,
fifth-season bantamweight tournament.
However,
if he is to accomplish that goal, Warren will first have to get
past fourth-season featherweight tournament winner Patricio “Pitbull”
Freire in a rematch of their 2010 clash. Sherdog.com has learned
from a source close to the fighters that the self-professed “baddest
man on the planet” will likely square off with Freire at
Bellator 47 on July 23.
The
second event in Bellator’s planned “Summer Series,”
Bellator 47 will likely feature the semifinals of the promotion’s
latest featherweight tournament and will air live on MTV2. No
location or venue has been announced for the event.
A
former Greco-Roman wrestling world champion, Warren made his
Bellator debut in April 2010, running the gauntlet to capture
the second-season featherweight tournament crown. The 34-year-old
came back from the brink of defeat against then-champion Joe
Soto at Bellator 27, knocking his foe out in the second round
with a flurry of strikes. Most recently, Warren walked away with
a contentious unanimous decision over Marcos Galvao in their
137-pound catchweight contest at Bellator 41 in April.
The
lone loss in Freire’s seven-year pro career came at the
hands of Warren in Bellator’s Season Two tournament final.
Though the Brazilian gave an excellent account of himself in
their Bellator 23 clash, Freire ultimately wound up on the short
end of a three-round split decision. The 23-year-old returned
to Bellator with a vengeance in 2011, knocking out Georgi Karakhanyan
and Wilson Reis en route to a second finals berth, this time
against Daniel Straus. “Pitbull” controlled the action
against Straus, using excellent wrestling defense to earn a unanimous
nod and a shot at redemption against Warren.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Murilo
Ninja Rua’s declaration of retirement from active MMA competition
By Zach
Arnold
Congrats to my opponent Tom Watson for the win tonight (at BAMMA
6), he was better and deserved it. I would like to announce officially
my retirement from PRO MMA fights tonight. It was an amazing
run, and its a very tough moment. But there comes a time for
all in life, and it’s time to move on. I am proud of all
I did in MMA and all experiences I had.
I will continue to work with MMA,doing seminars, teaching classes,
training fighters,and doing my share to help our sport that I
love so much. Its time now to help others and enjoy my family,
my wife, my kids and move one. I want to thank so much all the
fans for all the support. Always helping me out and giving me
all incentive. Brazil, Japan, USA, England, Canada, Australia.
All places I fought, thanks so much!! I want to also thank to
all the trainers that helped me from day 1 as a white belt until
now.All training partners that pushed me so much. All sponsors
that believed and still believe in myself. All my friends in
the press.
And mostly, I want to thank my true friends,my family, my mom
and dad, my wife that I love so much, my kids who are my joy
and my brothers. I want to thank my manager for being my friend,
and I want to sincerely thank my brother for all support and
making me so proud.
Life goes on, memories will stay forever, and MMA will still
be my life forever. Thank you so much you all!
Murilo “Ninja” Rua.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Stefan
Struve: If I Fight My Fight, Nothing Can Go Wrong
It's a little frightening to consider, but Stefan Struve may
be just now getting serious about his MMA career.
Not
that he was exactly taking it easy before, mind you. But only
recently has the 6-foot-11 Dutch heavyweight hired his own strength
and conditioning coach and started to pay close attention to
his diet. As a result, the "Skyscraper" is only getting
bigger and stronger. And all while he's still just 23 years old.
"It's
going to be fun," Struve told MMA Fighting. "I'm looking
forward to seeing how much better I am this time. When you look
at my last fight, you can see how much bigger I was. After my
last fight with [Sean] McCorkle I finally had trainers for everything."
Between
sparring with kickboxer Daniel Ghita and working his ground game
with jiu-jitsu champion Remco Pardoel, Struve undoubtedly has
a strong team around him. But even more than the training, Struve
said, the real difference-maker is his growing comfort level
with the bright lights of the UFC.
"To
be honest, it may sound weird, but all the things – the
media, the fans, the attention I'm getting in the lead-up to
the fight, the flight to America – it has become normal.
Just like it was normal for me to fight all over Europe before
the UFC signed me. I fought on big shows in Europe and that became
normal for me. Now every single time I go to fight in the UFC,
it becomes more normal, more routine, and that's a good feeling."
It's
also a far cry from his Octagon debut against Junior dos Santos.
Struve came into the fight wide-eyed and shaken by nerves, and
as a result he made it less than a minute before getting rocked
by the aggressive Brazilian. A hard right caught him on the side
of the head, and the next thing Struve knew he was down, but
without realizing how he'd gotten there.
"Then
when he hit me, and I woke up. I remember thinking, sh-t, I better
do something or I'm going to lose this fight," Struve said.
"Then he hit me again."
It's
hard to believe that it was only a little over two years ago
that Struve was a clueless Octagon rookie. Now at UFC 130 he
prepares for his eighth UFC bout against fellow big man Travis
Browne, who, at 6'8" is yet another of the tall trees populating
the heavyweight division.
But
as Struve knows well, just being big doesn't win fights, and
he's not altogether blown away by what he's seen of Browne so
far.
"I've
seen his fights with McSweeney and Kongo. I was in London when
he fought Kongo. Honestly, I wasn't impressed with that fight.
I don't think he was pleased with that fight either. The first
round was good for him, but I think the second and third round
were just kind of boring. He's got power in his hands, some good
kicks, and his stand-up is pretty good. But when the fight hits
the mat, I think the fight is mine. My ground game is better
than his and, to be honest, I think my stand-up is better than
his as well. If I fight my fight, in my opinion, nothing can
go wrong."
It
may be a furious effort, Struve said, but he doesn't see it lasting
very long.
"I
expect him to push the pace, especially in the first round and
the opening moments of the second and third. But I don't plan
to go there. I like to finish fights early. But I expect him
to come after me and try to throw bombs, maybe even take me down.
But I'm not that sure if you really want to take me down."
Fights
like his come-from-behind win over Christian Morecraft may be
exciting for fans, Struve said, but they're no fun for the fighter
who has the spend the first round taking a beating. Still, it
was good to show off an aspect of his game few had seen, even
if he hoped never to have to do it again.
"People
love to see those kinds of fights. They want to see fights like
in 'Rocky,' where a guy gets beat up and comes back and wins
the fight." Struve said. "That's what the fans love.
But for me, it was a thing that my coach and I already knew,
which is that I have a big fighting heart. I never quit, never
give up, and that shows in fights like that. I knew that already,
it's just that now the fans know too."
Source: MMA Fighting |
MMA
Fighters React to Randy 'Macho Man' Savage's Death
Pro wrestling legend Randy Poffo, aka Randy "Macho Man"
Savage died Friday morning in Florida after reportedly suffering
a heart attack while driving. He was 58.
Immediately
after TMZ broke the news Friday afternoon, #ripmachoman became
a trending topic on Twitter, and many MMA fighters used the social
media tool to express their feelings on the passing of one of
pro wrestling's best. A collection of their tweets can be found
below.
bjpenndotcom
BJ Penn
Rest in Peace to Macho Man Randy Savage. One of my biggest inspirations.
God Bless
bjpenndotcom
BJ Penn
You will be missed very much... OOOOOOOOH!! YEAHHHH!!! REST IN
PEACE BROTHER!!!!!
bjpenndotcom
BJ Penn
THE MEGA POWERS BABY!!! FOREVER!!!!
aaronsimpson
Aaron Simpson
Just saw that The Macho man Randy Savage just died in a car accident.
Used to love that guy.
AndreWinner
André Winner
"@Fighterstrength: S--t. Macho man randy savage is dead
!!"Noooooo,only until I got older did I really appreciate
how good macho man was
bjpenndotcom
BJ Penn
Remembering all the great memories.... I was just a little boy
when The Macho Man was doing his thing.... I miss you man.
DaMarques_UFC
DaMarques Johnson
RIP Macho Man Randy Savage.
FollowACE
Rich Franklin
RIP macho man!!!!
titoortiz
Tito Ortiz
Rip. I've been a big fan! Oooooh yaaaaa! RT @Ericardoin: RT @bjpenndotcom:
Rest in Peace to Macho Man Randy (cont) http://tl.gd/aj753p
Brian_Bowles
Brian Bowles
Macho man died today that's sucks he was one of my favorites
TJ_Grant
TJ Grant
RIP MACHO MAN
mayhemmiller
Jason Mayhem Miller
Damn. I knew this day would come. I have some giant shoes to
fill, but I will do my best. RIP Macho Man. You will be missed.
ShaneCarwin
Shane Carwin
We should all go get a slim jim in his honor. He never got the
same credit as Hulk but he helped make that era what it was.
RIP
ShaneCarwin
Shane Carwin
RIP Randy Macho Man Savage! We are going to SOOOOOOOOOO MISSSSS
YOUUUUUUUU...... He was a great Entertainer!
thejameshead
James Head
OOOOOOOOHHHHHH YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHH. RIP #MACHOMAN
Kingsbu
Kyle Kingsbury
Im seriously pretty choked up my fav prowrestler of all time
died today. RIP Macho Man Randy Savage. Many great memories.
#youwillbemissed
SammyJstout
sam stout
RIP macho man
mexicutioner760 joey beltran
RIP MACHO MAN RANDY SAVAGE
JoshLBarnett
Josh Barnett
RIP
peace "Macho Man" Randy Savage. You are a legend and
I loved watching you wrestle. Oh yeah!
dc_mma
Daniel Cormier
Rip to the greatest wrestler of all time. Macho man Randy savage.
U will be missed.
BamBamHealy
Patrick Healy
RIP macho man, ur high flying maneuvers greatly influenced my
childhood.
JoeB135
Joseph Benavidez
RIP Macho Man Randy Savage 'Ooooooo ya"
Source: MMA Fighting |
UFC
Rio: tickets and official card announcement on June 16
Readers
by the dozens have been making daily queries into how to go about
getting tickets for the August 27 UFC Rio/134 event to take place
in Brazil. Now they just have a month to go for their answers.
With
the card just about set and Anderson Silva, Rodrigo Minotauro
and Maurício Shogun in the mix, tickets will only go on
sale once the official card has been announced on June 16, 28
days from now.
UFC
president Dana White will travel to Rio especially to announce
the card and how tickets will be sold.
On
the occasion of the announcement, White should be accompanied
by some of the promotion’s biggest stars, like Anderson,
Shogun, Yushin Okami, Forrest Griffin, Brendan Schaub and Rodrigo
Minotauro.
Source: Gracie Magazine |
Savage
a wrestling legend in ring and out
Randy
“Macho Man” Savage, a pro wrestling icon whose fame
reached far past the wrestling ring as a television pitchman
with the phrase, “Snap into a Slim Jim, oooh yeah,”
died on Friday morning in Pinellas County, Fla., after reportedly
suffering a heart attack while driving, leading to an auto accident.
Savage,
born Randall Mario Poffo, was 58. While perhaps best known for
his pro wrestling battles as Hulk Hogan’s major storyline
rival in the late 1980s, Savage was also an actor and a one-time
major league baseball prospect.
Lanny
Poffo, his brother and also a former pro wrestler under the handle
“Leaping” Lanny Poffo, told TMZ.com that Savage suffered
a heart attack behind the wheel while driving a 2009 Jeep Wrangler.
The
Seminole fire department responded to the scene to provide medical
care, and he was transported to Largo Memorial Hospital, where
he died at 9:25 a.m. The incident remains under investigation
and an autopsy will be performed over the weekend.
Savage’s
wife, Barbara Lynn Poffo, who he had known from his days as a
minor league baseball player in Florida, long before he met his
famous first wife, Elizabeth Hulette, was also in the car. She
suffered minor injuries.
Savage
was best known in wrestling for a storyline that serves as a
fond childhood memory to this day for wrestling fans, both lapsed
and current.
It
was a one-year plot which started at WrestleMania IV in 1988,
in Atlantic City, N.J., when Hogan, who was taking time off wrestling
for a movie role in real life, helped Savage “win”
the finals of a tournament for the World Wrestling Federation
(now World Wrestling Entertainment) championship, beating “The
Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase.
During
the postmatch celebration, Savage gave Hogan a glare as Hogan
was celebrating too closely with “The Lovely Elizabeth,”
Savage’s real-life wife. The WWF teased tension between
the two, who remained tag-team partners, throughout 1988 and
into the following year.
It
climaxed on a live NBC prime time TV special on Feb. 3, 1989,
as Savage exploded with jealousy on a live NBC special and blamed
Hogan for accidentally “injuring” Elizabeth, leading
to the end of the team and a full-on rivalry in which Elizabeth
sided with Hogan. The match drew a 9.7 Nielsen rating.
This
led to an encounter at WrestleMania V, on April 2, 1989, also
in Atlantic City, where Hogan defeated Savage and won the championship.
At the time, it was the biggest pay-per-view wrestling event
ever, doing more than 760,000 buys, a record that would stand
until 2000, with the onset of the “Stone Cold” Steve
Austin and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson era.
While
Hulette and Savage had been married since 1984, a year before
Savage joined the WWF, in 1991, the WWF promoted a storyline
reconciliation between the two moments after Savage had lost
a “retirement” match to “The Ultimate Warrior”
at WrestleMania VII in Los Angeles. A storyline wedding between
the two was held on PPV in Madison Square Garden a few months
later.
But
shortly after that mock wedding, the couple separated in real
life and Elizabeth left the wrestling business for many years.
They officially divorced in late 1992.
Hulette
died on May 1, 2003, at the age of 42, while living in an Atlanta
suburb with wrestling star Larry “Lex Luger” Pfohl,
of an accidental overdose from a combination of drugs.
Savage’s
other most famous match during wrestling’s 1980s golden
era was on March 29, 1987, at WrestleMania III, before a then-pro
wrestling record crowd of 78,000 at the Pontiac, Mich., Silverdome.
While Hogan vs. Andre the Giant was the main event, Savage’s
match with Ricky Steamboat over the Intercontinental title was
generally considered the best WWF match of that era, a fast-paced,
back-and-forth battle won by Steamboat.
From
the late 1970s until the early ’90s, Savage was considered
one of the great in-ring workers in the business. In his prime,
he was a quick and fearless daredevil known for his intensity,
which bordered on scary at times. His unique interviews were
among the most recognizable in the industry, imitated by people
in and out of wrestling to this day.
However,
his national fame didn’t come until 1985 with WWF because
his family ran a renegade wrestling promotion based out of Kentucky
and were unofficially blacklisted from the mainstream of the
industry for several years.
“I
remember in 1980 when we were talking about new talent in St.
Louis, and [promoter] Pat O’Connor told me, the best young
talent in the business is Randy Savage, but we can’t use
him,” remembered Larry Matysik, a longtime wrestling announcer
and promoter out of St. Louis. Savage and his family sued the
then-dominant National Wrestling Alliance at one point, claiming
restraint of trade, but the case never went to trial as many
of the key witnesses on the Poffo family side were hired away
by NWA promoters.
In
his early 40s, Savage was being phased out of in-ring competition
by WWF promoter Vince McMahon Jr., and in 1994, he signed with
rival World Championship Wrestling, following the lead of Hogan,
who had signed there a few months earlier.
He
was back in the ring as one of the major stars in that organization
through 1999, including a period from the spring of 1996 through
the spring of 1998 when it was the wrestling business’ leading
promotion. By that point Savage had suffered a number of serious
injuries from his years of high-flying, physical wrestling style.
When his contract expired and the company, bleeding money by
that time, didn’t offer him similar money for a new deal,
he opted to leave the company.
Savage
was intense and driven in everything he did. He played minor
league baseball from 1971-74 in the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati
Reds and Chicago White Sox farm systems. He wrestled during the
offseason, often under a mask to hide his identity from his baseball
employers, but sometimes under his real name, as part of a family
unit with his father, Angelo, and brother Lanny.
An
outfielder, after he blew out his right shoulder, making him
unable to throw with any force, he taught himself to throw left-handed
in an attempt to continue his career.
“I
saw his tryout with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1971,” remembered
Matysik. “Man, he could hit. He was a little squirt, I don’t
think he was more than 165 pounds at the time.”
He
batted .232 with nine home runs and 66 RBIs in his final season
of pro ball, with Tampa of the Class-A Florida State League,
before turning his attention full time to wrestling.
Savage
also appeared as an actor in a number of television shows, often
playing himself. His best known role, of course, was as the legendary
Slim Jim pitchman, but he also played the role of wrestler Bonesaw
McGraw in the 2002 “Spider-Man” movie.
World
Wrestling Entertainment released an official statement on Friday
afternoon.
“WWE
is saddened to learn of the passing of one of the greatest superstars
of his time, Randy Poffo, aka Randy “Macho Man” Savage.
Poffo was under contract with WWE from 1985 to 1993 and held
both the WWE and Intercontinental championships. Our sincerest
condolences go out to his family and friends. We wish a speedy
recovery to his wife Lynn. Poffo will be greatly missed by WWE
and his fans.”
The
end of Savage’s wrestling career was unique. He was scheduled
to appear in the main event of a pay-per-view show put on by
the group Total Nonstop Action on January 16, 2005, against Jeff
Jarrett.
“I
hadn’t seen him since the TNA show,” remembered Dusty
Rhodes, one of wrestling’s biggest stars of the 1970s and
1980s, who had done a WrestleMania match with Savage almost 15
years earlier. “The last words he said to me, five minutes
before the PPV, was, ‘I can’t do this. I don’t
want people to see me looking like this.’ Jerry [Jarrett,
a TNA company co-owner] called [event producer] Keith Mitchell
in, and I said, ‘Change the main event. I said to him, ‘Randy,
just go home. It’s okay with me.’ That’s the last
words he said to me.” Rhodes, who lived a 20-minute drive
from Savage, never saw him again, and compared Savage of the
past five years to notorious recluse Howard Hughes.
“I
could see it in his eyes … he just didn’t want to do
it,” said Rhodes, whose real name is Virgil Runnels. “Obviously,
he was financially set. Out of all of us from that era, [Ric]
Flair, Hogan, Andre, myself, how many of us walked away. One.”
Source: Yahoo Sports |
Escovedo
travels hard road to UFC debut
For
most of his life, Cole Escovedo has been a get-things-done type
of person. He’s the first to admit that not all of the things
he has gotten done in his life have been good, but he’s
clearly a doer.
When
his cat was stuck in the branches near the top of a 40-foot pine
tree, Escovedo kicked off his shoes, shimmied to the top, popped
the cat into his shirt and made his way safely back to the ground.
But
as 2007 dawned, Escovedo’s life spiraled out of control.
A one-time World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion,
fighting seemed out of the question. Walking normally was going
to be a challenge. Survival, just living, was the short-term
goal.
A
tiny sore on his left forearm, which he thought may have been
a spider bite, an ingrown hair or possibly a pimple, was robbing
him of everything that he held precious. This is a guy who fought
professionally for a living, who once drove a race car and jumped
out of a plane at 30,000 feet.
As
2006 turned into 2007, however, getting from the living room
to the bathroom without the aid of a walker was nearly impossible.
Escovedo had contracted a staph infection that seemed certain
to end his fighting career, finish life as he knew it and perhaps
end his life, period.
He
was 25 at the time and 11-4 in a mixed martial arts career that
had seen him win the WEC featherweight title and compete against
luminaries of the sport such as Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver.
Life
was never easy for Escovedo, whose father, Larry, was convicted
of rape, kidnapping and other charges in 1995 and was sentenced
to 68 years in a California prison.
Larry
Escovedo was a schizophrenic who was diagnosed with multiple
personality disorder, and the knowledge of his father’s
condition eased some of the pain that Cole felt about his father’s
crimes.
Still,
it didn’t have an immediate positive impact upon him.
“I
ended up becoming a pretty jacked up teen-ager and a pretty big
[expletive],” Escovedo, now 29, said. “But the one
thing that helped me was martial arts. I had been doing martial
arts since I was six, and that kind of helped keep me centered.
It kept me somewhat out of trouble. A kid in that state could
probably have ended up going a lot of different ways. I managed
to avoid most of the really bad stuff with my Mom’s help.
I’m not in prison and I’m not a drug addict, and I
went to the Police Academy for a while when I was 19, so I think
she did a pretty good job.”
If
it wasn’t for his mother, Laura Robitschek, Escovedo may
have become an alcoholic and almost certainly would never have
gotten rid of the walker he needed just to move slowly around
his home.
He
surely wouldn’t be days away from making his debut for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship by fighting Renan Barao on May
28 at UFC 130 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
After
Escovedo was diagnosed in late 2006 with MRSA (Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus), the most dangerous type of staph infection,
he began to feel sorry for himself.
He
would drink when he awakened and drink to put himself to sleep.
He wasn’t doing much of anything to help himself beat an
infection that was slowly, but surely, draining the life out
of him.
“I
had a lot of depression and I went through a big spell where
there was a lot of drinking, unfortunately,” he said. “I
spent a good month or two pretty much just having a pity party
and I just drank every day. I didn’t do anything else but
drink a lot of the time.
“But
one day, my Mom smacked me around a little bit and told me I
needed to pull my head out of my (expletive). She said, ‘We’re
done with the pity party. You’re going to go get a job like
everyone else, or you’re going to go and do something about
this and fix the problem and continue doing what you have always
wanted to do.’ She told me I was going to waste away if
I continued the way I was and I’ll admit, it was a really
depressing time.”
What
Escovedo wanted to do more than anything was to fight. He wanted
to prove the doctors wrong, to show that he could once again
climb into the cage and test himself against another man.
At
the time Robitschek confronted him, he was hooked up to an intravenous
line and given the antibiotic Vancomycin. He went through the
regimen twice a day for two hours at a time for six weeks.
Escovedo’s
staph infection had initially been misdiagnosed and he wasn’t
given the proper treatment. By the time it was properly diagnosed,
the infection had created an egg shell-like substance around
his spinal cord and literally had begun eating through the spinal
cord. It did enough damage before it was corrected with surgery
that he still suffers from what he calls “leg shakes.”
Occasionally,
his legs will begin to tremor and won’t be able to support
his body weight. He’ll have to take a break from whatever
he is doing until it resolves itself. It usually occurs when
he’s doing intense workouts that involve his legs.
“It’s
something a lot of people don’t notice and it just seems
like fatigue, but what it is is that my legs aren’t getting
the message any more from my brain to stand up straight and hold
my weight,” Escovedo said.
After
Robitschek laid into him, Escovedo realized his mother was right.
He had never been one to drown in his sorrows and had always
gone hard after whatever he wanted.
He
laid in bed at night and thought about what it was that he wanted:
To walk normally, to fight again, to live a full and complete
life. And he realized that he wasn’t going to do that relying
on a walker and a bottle of alcohol, so he committed on the spot
to making the best of it and getting himself back to normal.
It
wouldn’t be easy, but nothing about his life was easy and
he had come to the conclusion that the life he was living wasn’t
much fun. He vowed to himself that he would push hard to recover
and to be all that he had dreamed of becoming.
“I
always had the belief that if I wanted to do something badly
enough, I could achieve it,” he said. “That’s
just the way I was brought up by my parents. They’d always
preached to me that just because something is hard didn’t
mean I couldn’t do it or that I should give up trying.
“So,
there was always that small, underlying feeling that regardless
of what my doctors were telling me, it was going to be me who
would be the deciding factor in whether I would continue to walk
or not again. At that point, once I decided I could walk, it
was just a matter of how long until I could fight.”
It
was about 18 months from the time that he was originally diagnosed
until his first trip back to the gym for a light training session.
And while he was walking OK by that point, it was an entirely
different thing being able to go through the grueling training
sessions required of a professional fighter.
And
Escovedo faced plenty of roadblocks and encountered a lot of
doubt.
“For
the first couple of months after I got back into it, there was
a feeling that I had bitten off more than I could chew and that
I was just wasting my time,” he said. “I was thinking
maybe it was futile to believe that I could fight and that the
best I could hope for would be to get back into shape and teach
[martial arts].”
But
Escovedo knew how badly he wanted to fight and just didn’t
have it in his DNA to give up without trying harder. He kept
pushing and began to make progress. Each day, he’d be a
bit better and the future began to seem more promising.
Suddenly,
he was on the verge of accomplishing what he wanted more than
anything else.
“I
can remember when my doctors were saying that not only wouldn’t
I ever fight again, but that I probably wouldn’t walk again
and me thinking, ‘Oh yeah? You just watch me,’ ”
he said. “And now, here I was. I was walking, obviously,
and every day I’m in the gym and I’m getting better
and better and (a return to competition) was getting more realistic.”
He
returned to competition on May 8, 2009, when he faced Michael
“Mayday” McDonald after two years, eight months and
22 days away from competition. He still wasn’t 100 percent.
He wasn’t nearly what he had been prior to the infection,
and there were still doubts, in his mind and in the minds of
those closest to him, whether it was the right thing to do.
But
he’d come so far he wasn’t about to quit.
In
small type on the side of his Facebook page, Cole Escovedo has
posted one of the more famous quotes from the book, “The
Art of War” by Sun Tzu: “Victory is reserved for those
willing to pay its price.”
Regardless
of what happened in that fight against McDonald at the Tachi
Palace in Lemore, Calif., Escovedo was a winner. He had paid
the price. He’d battled back from the brink of death to
return to professional sports competition. Not even a loss in
the first minute of the first round could obscure that.
Escovedo
has not only made it back – winning that night on a second-round
TKO – but he’s gone 6-2 since his return and has made
it to the pinnacle of the sport. He insists he’s a better
fighter now than he was prior to the staph infection and has
developed a more well-rounded game.
The
UFC did him no favors in his debut, however. Barao has won 25
consecutive fights and is a teammate of UFC featherweight champion
Jose Aldo Jr., so he promises to be a formidable opponent.
As
good as Barao is, however, there’s no way he’s tougher
than MRSA and a life-threatening illness that nearly took away
everything that is dear to Escovedo.
Regardless
of the outcome, Escovedo is already a winner and now only has
to go out to try to win a fight.
“I’m
pretty stoked,” he said. “I’ve been doing this
10 years and I finally made it. I know when I walk into the cage
and they close the door, it’s time to get serious and get
ready to fight. But I’ll be honest. It’s going to be
hard for me to quit smiling. I’m going to look around that
place and soak it in and I know everything I’ve been through
will be running through my mind.
“It’s
going to be a huge moment for me, not only as a fighter but as
a man. Getting to the UFC after where I’ve been, I’m
not sure I know how to describe that other than to say that it
means everything to me. Unbelievable.”
Source: Yahoo Sports |
Under
Construction: Skyscraper in Progress
Stefan
Struve is in no hurry.
The
23-year-old Dutchman is well aware that his career is just beginning,
despite having 25 professional fights to his credit. Struve has
racked up a 5-2 record since joining the UFC in 2009, his only
Octagon losses coming to heavyweight contenders Junior dos Santos
and Roy Nelson.
Both
defeats came in the first round, both by knockout.
While
some might obsess over such setbacks and plead for quick rematches,
Struve speaks of the defeats casually, confidently explaining
that he will get his shot at redemption -- and the heavyweight
title -- in due time. According to Struve, the only fight on
his mind is the one he will have against fellow prospect Travis
Browne at UFC 130 on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in
Las Vegas.
“To
be honest, I’m not really thinking about [avenging those
losses or earning a title shot]. The only thing in my mind right
now is that I have to fight Travis Browne,” Struve tells
Sherdog.com. “The nice thing with my career is that I just
turned 23. There’s no rush. I’m only going to get better
in the coming years, so it’s not like I need to beat those
guys right now. I’ve got plenty of time.”
Though
the undefeated Browne did not impress in turning out a draw in
his Octagon debut against Cheick Kongo at UFC 120, Struve still
expects fireworks in his fight with the Hawaiian.
“He
was disappointed with his performance against Kongo. The first
round was OK, but [that fight] didn’t tell me much,”
Struve says. “I expect him to come out and push the pace,
especially in the first round. He’s got heavy hands and
kicks, so I need to watch out and not get hit. But I think it’s
going to be one hell of a fight, especially for the crowd.”
The
tallest man in the UFC, Struve has used his 6-foot-11 frame to
turn back most who have opposed him in the cage. According to
Struve, however, he is still in the process of learning how to
use his natural gifts to the best of his ability.
Struve
expects fireworks vs. Browne.
“The small, stocky guys might be stronger, but if you know
how to use your reach and use your body in the perfect way, I
think that’s a big advantage,” he says. “I’m
trying my best to use my reach to its fullest, and I’m getting
better at that with every single fight.
“One
example is Jon Jones’ guillotines,” Struve adds. “If
you look at how he locks it up and how much strength he can deliver,
that’s a great example of how long arms or legs can be good
on the ground. And if you look at my record, I don’t even
know how many wins I have by triangle. I have a lot of submission
wins. In my opinion, [ground fighting] is easier, because [I
can attempt] submissions from weird angles.”
Struve
has dedicated himself to fortifying his considerable natural
gifts with improved standup and ground work since his most recent
appearance in the Octagon netted him a first-round technical
knockout victory over Sean McCorkle at UFC 124.
“I
think that all of the aspects of my game have improved since
my last fight. I hired [UFC pioneer] Remco Pardoel as my jiu-jitsu
trainer. In my opinion, my ground game has improved a lot [between]
my last couple of fights,” he says. “I have a great
team and great sparring partners. I’m also training with
[Dream light heavyweight champion] Gegard Mousasi’s team
-- with [K-1 fighter] Daniel Ghita -- so I think I’ve improved
a lot.”
Outside
of improving his technique, the young heavyweight is also packing
on the pounds. Although Struve admits he will need to beef up
in order to contend with the division’s more powerful contenders,
it comes as no surprise that the lanky prospect approaches this
aspect of his training deliberately, as well.
“The
last time I checked my weight, I was 262 [pounds]. We don’t
want to do it too fast. After every fight, we just want to get
a little bigger and a little stronger. If you do it too fast,
you’re going to lose cardio and speed and agility. We don’t
want that. I’m only 23 years old, and I’m going to
get a lot bigger naturally,” says Struve, detailing his
timeline for adding mass to his frame. “I think in two to
three years, I’ll be up around 290 [pounds]. I’m adding
about five to seven pounds after [every fight]. I just want to
keep my body running as smoothly as possible, but I do want to
get bigger and stronger. And I need to, because the guys in that
division are monsters.”
Struve, who has also dedicated himself to a healthier diet, will
patiently wait for his physical strength to match his in-cage
constitution. Even at 23, Struve is known as one of the heavyweight
division’s more resilient competitors, as evidenced by his
comeback victories over Denis Stojnic and Christian Morecraft.
According to Struve, his never-say-die attitude stems from the
sacrifices he makes in training.
“I’ve
put so much effort into [my career]. Everything I do in my life
for the last eight to 10 weeks of my training camp is about the
fight. There are so many things I give up, like going out with
my friends. I go to bed early every day right now, [even on the
weekends]. Sometimes I want to eat something [unhealthy], but
I have to keep my diet going,” says Struve. “There
is no ‘give up’ in me. I just want to win so bad. I
think it also [has to do] with character, with the way somebody
is, you know? I don’t want to lose, no matter what. I will
keep going until I can go no more.”
Though
one might assume such a quick rise to prominence might inspire
an equally impressive ego, that notion becomes far-fetched when
Struve speaks of his family and his team.
“The
only fear I had --
and still have -- is the
fear of not showing
everything I can do.”
-- Stefan Struve
“I
couldn’t wish for a better family. My parents always supported
me with any sport I wanted to do, and they always made sure that
we could have what we desired,” says Struve, crediting his
upbringing. “Growing up, I wanted to be a soccer player.
Soccer is huge in Holland, and I played it until I was 14 years
old. Then, my brother took me to [Dutch MMA pioneer] Bob Schrijber’s
gym one day. “I loved it so much that I didn’t leave
the gym,” he adds. “I came back almost every day. A
year and a half later, I had my first fight. Bob’s gym was
only 10 minutes from my house. I’ve been with Bob for my
whole career. He taught me everything.”
Struve’s
first and only amateur fight came at the age of 16. After knocking
out his foe with a head kick, Struve recalls that he could not
get another amateur fight due to lack of interest from potential
opponents. At 17, he turned professional, winning 11 of his first
12 bouts.
“To
me, [fighting] was fun. It was my hobby. I loved to do it, and
I still love to do it; although now there is a little more pressure
than back then,” says Struve. “The only fear I had
-- and still have -- is the fear of not showing everything I
can do. There’s no fear of getting injured. There’s
no fear of getting knocked out. My only fear is that I will have
a bad performance.”
Though
Struve is not yet chomping at the bit to avenge his two Octagon
losses, he is well aware of the mistakes and missteps that contributed
to his aforementioned defeats to Nelson and Dos Santos.
“I
let them close the distance too fast. As I’ve gotten a lot
bigger and stronger the last couple of years, it’s been
easier to use my reach. There’s a lot more power in my punches
and kicks, and it’s easier to keep people at bay now,”
Struve explains. “With Roy, I was sick for that fight. I’m
still [disappointed] about that [loss], because I think that
if I hadn’t been sick that I could have done so much better.”
Regardless
of where Struve’s career path takes him, it seems a good
bet that the “Skyscraper” will take his time in getting
there, and that Schrijber will be by his side as he does.
“We
have a saying: never change the winning team. I’ve been
winning since I was 16 years old. Of course, we’ve been
asking other people for their opinions and training with other
people, but everything I do, I try to do with Bob,” says
Struve. “The bond I have with him is really good. Bob and
his wife are like family to me. We’re really close, and
they’re always in my corner. I trust them, no matter what.
I couldn’t be more thankful for the way my career is going.”
Source: Yahoo Sports |
Marcus
Aurélio gets the tapout and notches 21st MMA win
A
veteran of Pride and the UFC and a native of the Brazilian state
of Ceará, Marcus Aurélio captured his 21st career
win yesterday at MMA Live 1, and event held at the Labatt Centre
in London, Ontario, Canada, where he stopped Matt MacGrath with
a first-round armbar, as Junior Samurai reports.
The
black belt coming off a loss to Shinya Aoki left nothing to chance
and set out on the attack, bringing on the pressure from the
get-go. He quickly took the fight to just where he wanted it,
catching his opponent in an armbar at 3:38 minutes of the opening
round. It marked the thirtieth fight on the lightweight’s
ledger, which includes nine losses.
In
the main event of the evening, former UFC fighter Karo Parisyan
was giving as good as he got up until a knee from Ryan Ford in
the third round prompted the doctors to keep him from continuing.
MMA
Live 1
Labatt Centre, London, Ontario, Canada
May 19, 2011
Ryan
Ford defeated Karo Parisyan via doctor’s intervention in
R3
Marcus Aurélio submitted Matt MacGrath via armbar in R1
Lyndon Whitlock submitted Daniel Longbeen via triangle in R1
Bo Harris defeated Brent Franczuz via unanimous decision
Allan Wilson submitted Theo Toney via rear-naked choke in R2
Chuck Mady submitted James Haourt via armbar in R1
Jason Saggo submitted Derek Boyle via rear-naked choke in R3
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Telles
gets the knockout, Gregor puts one to bed, Paulão folds
The
X-Combat Ultra GP this Friday in the town of Campos dos Goytacazes,
Rio de Janeiro state, put on an electrifying under-84kg (middleweight)
GP with international matchups, as well as an under-77kg title
fight.
In
the opening fight of the GP, Eduardo Telles showed his muay thai
training with Francisco Veras has been paying off, according
to our collaborator Junior Samurai. The São Paulo native
ran roughshod over Chile’s Ivan “El Terrible”,
scoring a fight-ending front kick 58 seconds into the fight.
“That’s my favorite kick, and Veras told me to put
faith in it. It worked,” Telles told Junior Samurai. And
this would be just a taster of what was to come.
With
a superior display in the first round, Gustavo Ximu kept up the
pace in the second, when he managed to get back mount and pound
away until creating an opening to sink the decisive rear-naked
choke.
Next
came another superior display, with Leonardo Peçanha making
quick work of Argentina’s Matias Lemon. The Nova União
black belt landed a second-round armbar that brought the fight
to a close.
The
last fight in the GP was a heart breaker for his fans, as former
WEC champion Paulão Filho, a rugged and charismatic Jiu-Jitsu
stylist known to put on exciting fights, simply wilted. The black
belt – who is going through family problems – entered
the X-Combat cage wearing a posture never before seen in MMA.
Paulão limited himself to playing punching bag at the
hands of France´s Norman Paraisy. Holding his guard low
and stuck against the cage, he was a sitting duck and only wasn’t
knocked out because of his opponent’s lack of punching power.
The scorecards came in with a unanimous decision win for the
Frenchman.
Now
Gregor Gracie was game for his under-77kg title fight. The black
belt from the family with the greatest Jiu-Jitsu tradition was
merciless against Thiago Mônaco, coming up with the quickest
finish of the night, putting the Rio de Janeiro’s lights
out with a rear-naked choke. “I’ll always go to my
Jiu-Jitsu,” said Gregor just after the show.
X-Combat
Ultra GP
Parque de Exposições, Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio
May 20, 2011
Magno
Magu (Nova União) defeated Phelipe Ximenes “Demolidor”
(Constrictor) via unanimous decision
Paulo Vitor (Nova União) knocked out Fabiano Sales (Beto
Padilha) in R1
Mauricio Reis (BTT) defeated Franciney Farinazo (Nova União)
via unanimous decision
Emiliano Sordi (Top Figthing Team) defeated Ricardo Peçanha
(Alliance) in R1
Reserve
fight – International under-84kg GP
Patrick
Bezerra (Beto Padilha) defeated Vinicius Carvalho (Clube da Luta)
via desistance
Under-84
kg GP
Leonardo
Peçanha (Nova União) submitted Matias Lemon (Top
Figthing) via armbar in R2
Eduardo Telles (TK/Nine Nine) knocked out Ivan “El Terrible”
(Clube da Luta-Chile) in R1
Gustavo Ximu (Gracie Barra) submitted Juan Andres (Nova União-Chile)
via rear-naked choke in R2
Norman Paraisy (JAB/Team Jucão-França) defeated
Paulo Filho (BTT) via unanimous decision
Under-77kg
title fight
Gregor
Gracie (Renzo Gracie) submitted Thiago Mônaco (Beto Padilha)
via rear-naked choke in R1
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Change
of opponents? I’m ready
It’s
never easy switching from one opponent to another, but you work
it out. I was supposed to be fighting another fighter next Saturday
at UFC 130, but now I’m fighting Matt Hamill at the MGM
Grand in Las Vegas and am ready to go to war.
Thiago
Silva was my original opponent, but he was later pulled from
the fight and then replaced by Hamill. So, basically, I went
from focusing on an aggressive Muay Thai striker to a strong
wrestler.
Maybe
that is big difference in style to a lot of people, but I’ve
been used to this kind of thing throughout my career and have
always been able to adapt. When I fought in PRIDE tournaments
in Japan, you would never know which guy you’d end up facing
and you’d have to be prepared for all kind of styles. Sometimes
I had like a few days notice in PRIDE, and I was younger and
very raw. It was a different era back then.
Silva
would have been a great fight for me, as he’s a guy who
likes to stand and bang and doesn’t mind getting a little
dirty in there. He probably would have slugged it out with me
up close until I caught him on the jaw and knocked him clean
out. I’m sure it would have been an exciting fight for as
long as it lasted.
Hamill
can sometimes stand and trade and other times likes to go to
the ground and use his wrestling. He’s hurt a few guys with
his hands and power, but his main thing is definitely his wrestling.
So,
Hamill has stood and traded with some guys in his career, but
I am sure he knows it is bad for his health if he does that next
week! For real! I’ve trained for all areas – but I
just want it to be exciting. I think he will try and take me
down and I’m ready for him to avoid striking with me at
all costs.
I’m
under no pressure to get a knockout, but I always try for the
knockout. I have kept that mentality from PRIDE, where it was
more important to have a great fight than win or lose. I would
never criticize any fighter but at the end of the day, this is
entertainment, and I want to give the fans what they paying their
money for. This is the career I chose – fighting –
and so let’s fight.
I’m
not the first guy from the Wolfslair camp to go up against Hamill.
My ‘mate’ Mike Bisping faced and defeated Hamill in
2007. Those two guys put on a really exciting fight for three
rounds, and Bisping just edged it. Some people saw it as controversial,
but I personally thought Mike just about edged it. That was a
good night for us because also on the UFC 75 show in London I
beat Dan Henderson to become the first ever undisputed champion
of both UFC and PRIDE. If you look up in history who was the
first ever undisputed champion, there will be a picture of me.
I’ve
been lucky enough to have Mike training out here with me in California,
and it’s always great to work with him again. As well as
being a great fighter, Mike is also very good at breaking down
fights and giving advice.
He
has been in there already with Hamill, so he knows what the guy
is all about. Mike also is a little crazy, there’s something
a little wrong with him, ‘cause he likes training and getting
all sweaty. That guy loves working out, I try to tell him there’s
better things to do, but he don’t listen. I’ve never
seen anyone train as hard as Bisping. He’s the opposite
of me, he finds it easy to push himself to train. But he’s
good to have around because he is fun to be around and works
hard too. Mike helped me out a lot and he’s a great teammate.
Right
now I got to go back to filming the “In the Moment”
show for Spike TV, which you all will see next week.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
This
‘Pitbull’ has some bite: Patricio Freire gets the job
done at Bellator 145-pound final
"Big,
strong wrestler grinds out a victory over dynamic striker."
Patricio
"Pitbull: Freire couldn't have enjoyed that storyline playing
out last weekend when his brother Patricky was grounded often
and lost to Michael Chandler at Bellator 44.
At
Bellator 45, Freire penned a different story. From the start
of his fight against Daniel Straus, the younger of the Pitbull
brothers was wary of the former college wrestler's takedowns
and avoided the mat for all but a few seconds on his way to winning
the Bellator Season 4 Featherweight tourney title in unanimous
fashion, 30-27, 29-28 and 30-27, last night in Lake Charles,
La.
The
win gets Pitbull (17-1) a $100,000 payday and chance to rematch
against Bellator 145-pound champ Joe Warren.
"There
were lots of things going on in my mind," Freire told Sherdog,
"but the primary thing was the victory and [getting] a shot
at a belt for the first time in my career. I'm going to be a
champion. I'm going to take his belt."
Freire,
23, smoked Warren in the first round of a fight last June. Pitbull
couldn't close it out and thwarted by Warren's ground attack
over the next two rounds. With markedly improved takedown defense
against Straus, Freire looked like a different fighter.
Straus,
with a three-inch height advantage over the 5-foot-5 Freire,
looked massive in the cage, but his size never took over. He
executed a few nice throws, but Freire bounced right back up.
When the fight was in the clinch, Pitbull more than held his
own and by the third round he looked like the more powerful fighter.
The
stoppage of the night was produced by Bellator's new light heavyweight
champ. With 45 seconds left in the fight, Christian M'Pumbu caught
the former champ with a right hook and pounded him out on the
ground.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Georges
St-Pierre Early Favorite in Possible Champ vs. Champ Bout with
Nick Diaz
GSP punches Jake Shields at UFC 129.Georges St-Pierre's next
fight has not yet been decided. The UFC welterweight champion
could either move up in weight to fight middleweight champion
Anderson Silva, or he may stay put and face Strikeforce's 170-pound
champ Nick Diaz.
It's
a fight Diaz wants badly, and last Thursday, he was in Las Vegas
to meet with UFC president Dana White and ask for it. The results
of that meeting are so far unknown, but we can report there is
no deal done just yet. But we also know that White is often quite
receptive to fighters who passionately lobby for a specific fight.
Though
the bout is not official, many believe it's a more likely possibility
than St-Pierre vs. Silva, and in the earliest odds released for
the bout, St-Pierre has been installed as a fairly large favorite.
MMA
oddsmaker Nick Kalikas has installed St-Pierre is a -425 favorite
over Diaz, making him an over 4-to-1 choice to win. Diaz is at
+325.
St-Pierre
(22-2) is the winner of nine straight bouts and has defended
his belt six times in a row since re-capturing it with a win
over Matt Serra in April 2008. Just three weeks ago, he held
off Diaz's Cesar Gracie teammate Jake Shields via unanimous decision.
Diaz,
though, has an even longer win streak than GSP, boasting 10 straight
victories, including his most recent, an April 9 knockout of
Paul Daley that moved his record to 25-7 with 1 no contest. Given
Diaz's boxing ability and attacking jiu-jitsu style, many feel
his skill set can offer St-Pierre more matchup problems than
any top-ranked welterweight.
The
prospect of a Silva vs. St-Pierre superfight still remains a
possibility, but St-Pierre would find himself in the role of
underdog there. As it currently stands, Silva is a -175 favorite.
The middleweight champ has other things to think about first,
however. He is currently booked for a UFC 134 title defense against
Yushin Okami.
Source: MMA Fighting |
Retired
but Busier Than Ever, Randy Couture at Peace with New Chapter
of Life
It had only been a few days since Randy Couture retired from
mixed martial arts competition after his UFC 129 fight with Lyoto
Machida when he returned home to Las Vegas, and one of his first
stops was one of his most familiar ones: the cage. Couture walked
into his Xtreme Couture gym, changed into his workout clothes
and commenced training with a group of pro fighters.
Comeback,
anyone?
"Everyone
was scratching their heads looking at me going, 'You know, this
is how rumors get started,'" Couture says with a laugh.
Just
three weeks into his post-fight life, things don't feel much
different for the five-time, two-division UFC champion. He still
works out, he still takes an active role in working with the
fighters in his gym, and he remains a student of mixed martial
arts. But, he insists, he is in fact retired for good. Professionally,
he's already deep into other pursuits. He's getting ready to
film a movie role, and reading scripts for other potential projects.
He has a minority stake in a combat sports channel, Fight Now
TV, that is preparing to launch later this month. He's got his
gyms, clothing line and supplement line. Yes, in retirement,
Couture is busier than most people are during their careers.
"I
don't know what a 'retired fighter' feels like," he said.
"I feel great. I'm happy where I'm at in life. I think it
was the right time to stop competing. I think I'll always train
and I'll always be working with the guys and working in the sport
in some capacity, but it was the right time for me to bow out
of the octagon. I know there will be some bridges to cross. I
think they will try to tempt me to come back in, but I'm comfortable
with my decision. It's the right time for me."
If
Couture's final fight didn't end the way he and the majority
of fans wanted -- he was knocked out in the second round by Machida
-- at least the setting and reception were grand. Nearly 56,000
people crammed into Toronto's Rogers Centre, welcoming him for
the last time with a roar, and sending him out with a standing
ovation. It was the biggest Bon Voyage party MMA had ever thrown,
and the mood was only barely dampened by the ending.
Couture,
considered a master strategist, tipped his cap to Machida, who
used a rarely seen crane kick to end things 1:05 into the second.
"I'm
pretty rational, and it's not like I've never lost before,"
Couture said. "That's the fight game. I got caught with
a good one. He set it up nice. It's not one we had seen him do
in any of his other fights. He caught me by surprise. He's a
great athlete and a great fighter."
While
his match was not the main event of the show, the legend's final
fight will probably be the takeaway memory for most who were
there live or watching on TV. Even as it occurred, there was
a tangible appreciation of the moment and its historical implications
past the sheer size and scope of what was happening. Before his
match, Couture himself snuck out and walked halfway to the cage,
just wanting to take in the crowd.
But
when it came to the fight, walking down the aisle for the last
time was no different than the 29 times that came before it.
"It
was different because it was a huge venue and crowd, but it didn't
feel any different," he said. "It felt like another
fight. I was excited to be there and be part of it for all the
right reasons, for the history of it. But the rest of it, it
didn't feel different. There was no nostalgia or any of that
going on for me. I'm sure that will come at some point down the
road."
Perhaps
partly because of his unyielding schedule and partly because
of the freshness of the situation, that wistfulness has yet to
kick in. But Couture, who briefly retired in 2006 before coming
back the next year, knows that will come. He's experienced the
conflicting emotions that boil within and expects the first hurdle
will come when he attends his next event. That will probably
come later this month, as he expects to be at UFC 130 on May
28.
"It's
always hard when you go to shows and you're around fights and
fighters to not get antsy, to not feel like you want to train,"
he said. "Those are the real tests and challenges."
He's
got enough now that he doesn't think there is any chance he'll
be drawn back in. He's got plenty of business activities that
keep him busy, and he and the UFC are still figuring out his
future role in the organization. In his down time, whenever that
is, he's looking forward to the opportunity to hunt and fish,
two things he's done since he was a kid but has had little time
for lately. But when it comes to athletics, there is, he says,
"nothing I feel I need to chase." He accomplished nearly
everything he ever set out to do. He helped build a sport. It's
why looking back, Couture says he's not especially proud of any
one moment or achievement. There were plenty of highlights along
the way, but it was simply a career well conducted. There were
other fighters, but he was in some ways MMA's first true professional.
"I've
just had an amazing run for 14 years," he said. "It's
been a blast. I'm excited to have been part of all of it. I fought
a bunch of tough guys. In some ways I'm excited and relieved
that chapter's closed, and this new one is opening."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
After
winning Dallas Open, Bastos keeps up the good work
With
Bruno Bastos at the helm, Nova União was the big winner
at the Dallas Open, promoted by the IBJJF on May 8. The title
was extra added motivation for Bastos to keep up the good work
he’s doing in Texas. Last week the teacher promoted mixed
martial artist Travis Lutter to third-degree black belt, handing
the fighter his stripe along with a diploma from the IBJJF.
The
next open events on the IBJJF calendar will only come after the
Worlds, promising more big matchups between Nova União
and the rest of the biggest teams on the planet. Who’s going
to win the Rio Open, Las Vegas Open and Chicago Open, in July
and August?
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
A
Pitbull champion in USA
Patricio
Pitbull gave it his all and achieved what he set out to. As reported
by our collaborator Junior Samurai, the hard-hitter laid it on
Daniel Straus yesterday, dominating all three rounds of the Bellator
featherweight GP final. Now the Jiu-Jitsu black belt will get
a shot at the divisional belt and a chance for revenge for revenge
to boot, as he will face Joe Warren, the man responsible for
the lone blemish on the Brazilian’s record.
Bellator
45 was held in Louisiana, USA, and further crowned Christian
M’Pumbo, who used his boxing skills to drop Richard Hale
to the canvas, where he followed up with another four bombs take
his post as light heavyweight GP champion.
Check
out the complete results:
Bellator
45
Louisiana, USA
May 21, 2011
Light
heavyweight GP final:
Christian M’Pumbu defeated Richard Hale via technical knockout
in R1
Featherweight
GP final
Patrício “Pitbull” Freire defeated Daniel Straus
via unanimous decision
Sam
Alvey defeated Karl Amoussou via unanimous decision
Rene Nazaré submitted Kelvin Hackney via rear-naked choke
in R1
Luiz “Sapo” Santos defeated Nicolae Cury via unanimous
decision
Joseph Abercrombie submitted Ben Parpart via rear-naked choke
in R1
Shawn Jordan defeated John Hill via technical knockout in R1
Tim Ruberg defeated Mike Fleniken via unanimous decision
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Coach
guarantees: "I don't see Belfort losing this fight"
Brazilian Karate Champion, Jayme Sandall is responsible for teaching
the art at Vitor Belfort’s trainings since the “Phenom”
defeated Rich Franklin, on his return to the UFC.
On
an exclusive interview with TATAME, the karate fighter commented
on Belfort’s trainings for his next bout, against the Japanese
Yoshihiro Akiyama, and betted on a win. “In all ways I can
picture it, I don’t see any way that Vitor would lose this
one. It’s really unlikely”, states Jayme, who talked
about the knockout caused by Anderson Silva, the striking win
of Lyoto Machida over Randy Couture and a lot more.
How
are Vitor training’s going, focused on his next fight against
Akiyama in UFC?
He’s
already started to train, I called him the other day and we talked
for a while. He’s on one of the best places in the world
to be training at, which is Xtreme Couture, where he has many
guys to do sparrings, they have a great equipments there, all
the structure of the place, there’re many good fighters…
He’s training with Cezar Mutante, who’s recently fought
MMA and knocked out his opponents in only 13 seconds… He’s
in good hands.
How
do you like this match?
Their
game matches… He’s a tough opponent, but they all are.
But I, honestly, I can’t Picture Vitor losing this fight.
In all ways I can picture it, I don’t see any way that Vitor
would lose this one. It’s really unlikely.
Do
you think the best way is to strike or to take action on the
floor, since Akiyama was recently submitted by Chris Leben?
It’s
best for Vitor to strike, despite the fact he’s also better
on the ground. As I said, I can’t picture him not winning
this fight.
Do
you believe it’ll be an easy one to Vitor?
No.
not easy. I think there’s the thing: you can’t do it
without a meaning. When you fight and you think it’ll be
easy, it turns out it’s not. It’s like when he fought
Rich Franklin. Vitor did a pretty hard preparation and, for him
and for the entire team, it’d be a really tough bout, and
it turned out to be so simple. I believe we have to always assume
that it’ll be tough, hard, we must be careful at all times.
But, God bless us, it’ll be an easy fight.
How
do you see Vitor chances on this division? Winning this one and
maybe one or two more, do you think he could get a chance at
the title?
I
guess so, because the thing is: Anderson did a pretty good job
kicking him like that, but there was a lucky factor on it too.
It was well fit and got him, but the bout was good until just
then. An amazing win. Vitor couldn’t get a rematch now because
it was a striking win. But if Vitor wins this one and maybe one
more, a rematch will must be set. He still is, in my opinion,
the only guy on their weight class that can defeat Anderson.
Can Anderson be defeated before he gets his shot? Yeah, he can,
but it’s not likely. But not to Vitor.
Everybody
wanted to see Belfort VS. Wanderlei. Do you think this fight
can still happen?
I
guess so. Wanderlei has asked for it so badly, I didn’t
really get it what made him change his mind. There’re many
who say he got scared. Of course he didn’t, Wanderlei doesn’t
hide from anyone, Wanderlei has nothing else to prove to anybody.
He’s may be one of the greatest Brazilian names in all MMA
history. But, for some reason, he decided that he didn’t
want to do it now. Maybe, if he wins and Vitor is also successful
on their next bout, maybe they met up then, right? And then,
the winner could earn a title shot against Anderson Silva. Can
you picture it? Wanderlei or Belfort fighting Anderson…
Anyway, fullhouse.
Did
you see that kick coming at all? Did you try to train to prevent
it to happen?
You
see, I made a list of all coups Anderson uses, which was hard,
because Anderson uses old stuff, he does some things never seen
before… But I know for a fact that he uses a lot kicks on
the waist area. Anyway, we trained a lot how to prevent to be
kicked right in the face. Unfortunately, Vitor just stopped.
There was a moment on which he just stop, stood still and Anderson
had plenty time to prepare himself, measure the right distance,
it must have token him like two or three seconds… You can’t
stand still three seconds when you’re facing Anderson, but
you can’t do it either when you’re fighting Vitor.
Anderson prepared that kick and was nailed it.
A
kick that was even more shocking than Anderson’s was Lyoto’s
on Randy Couture. Do you believe you’d ever see kicks like
that in MMA?
Well,
I didn’t see it coming, but the funny thing is: this kick
is pretty normal in Karate. Not in the face, but above the belt.
I used to give the guys that kick a lot, a frontal flying kick.
You give one extra step to bring your leg and kick harder. I
use to knock people down with kicks on their stomach. I actually
got a few knockdowns with a kick on my stomach, but not on the
face. I was surprised, and even Lyoto said all that Steven Seagal
stuff, but people have to know that it’s all propaganda,
because it was not Steven Seagal the one who taught him that
kick, he knows it from Karate. I talked to Lyoto’s father
the day after the fight and he told me: ‘I told Lyoto to
train a lot. Also, I told him to be careful with that kick on
the trainings, because if he gets to do it on one of his teammates,
it’s dangerous’. But this Steen Seagal thing is all
propaganda.
Which
one is more efficient and which one is harder to apply?
See,
they’re both efficient. It’s proven: two striking knockouts.
But it’s harder to use Lyoto’s, exactly because when
you through your leg to get the first impulse, your opponent
see that you’re up to something, so he can get rid of it,
so it’s harder to get it on the right time and distance.
The other kick, Anderson’s, it can be seen as a frontal
kick of Tae-Kwon-Do, which is his foundation, and Muay Thai too,
but this frontal kick with the feet on the floor is easier. You
go and just kick your opponent, you don’t show him that
you are about to attack him. While the other gives the opponent
enough time to escape from it.
Do
you think it makes Karate looks better in UFC, as when Lyoto
became its champion?
Oh,
of course it does. People overreact a little… If Lyoto wins,
Karate is the best martial art in the world. If Lyoto loses,
it’s the worst… There’s no such thing. Now, Take
is also fighting MMA, but fought once and lost by points, but
he’ll return. He and Chinzo will go with me to Thailand
in August to fight World of Karate, and after the World, he’ll
focus in MMA again.
How
is your life since you’ve started training with Vitor? Did
anything change in terms of being more known?
It’s
changed a lot. It was up and rise from it’s beginning. It
was good for me, all of it is good to me, and to Karate too.
I’m having the chance to introduce people to Karate, I had
the chance to explain a little bit about its rules… It was
good because I’ve changed some things in my trainings, I’ve
added some things to my professional trainings, things I’ve
learned on the United States, and mostly coming from MMA. MMA
trainings are great for Karate too.
Do
you consider the idea of working with MMA athletes, besides Vitor?
Yeah,
I do. Mainly as a coach, because I liked it a lot, but also as
a teacher. In my Karate classes, I’m using some of the techniques
I learned in MMA, ones I consider to be important. There was
this thing before that you could do one thing and one thing only…
Now it’s bullshit. Even if you like Jiu-Jitsu, on a Jiu-Jitsu
class it’s important that the instructor teaches you other
techniques. In my case, with Karate, I like teaching some Jiu-Jitsu
things, which is an amazing martial art, some clinching things,
which came from Muay Thai. I’ve changed my classes’
style a little.
Source: Tatame
|
BAMMA
6: Frank Trigg Returns To 185, Says Welterweight Was A Big Mistake
Frank
Trigg heads into his BAMMA 6 match-up with John Phillips looking
to answer a question: Can he still compete at middleweight?
“I
think one of the biggest mistakes that I made was trying to convince
myself that I can still be viable at 170,” Trigg told MMAWeekly.com.
“It wasn’t the fact that I didn’t have the athletic
ability or the talent to be viable at 170. What had happened
was that I am inefficient at 170. I’m too big now to make
the weight class.”
Before
returning to the UFC and the 170-pound division in 2009, Trigg
had an impressive run as a middleweight, defeating Jason “Mayhem”
Miller and Kazuo Misaki before losing to Robbie Lawler.
“At
185, obviously I’m bigger. I’m stronger because I’m
heavier. That goes without saying, but I feel better now. I’m
able to train hard. I’m able to train longer being a little
bit heavier,” he said.
“All
my trainers say I’m a lot better than I was when I was training
to fight at 170. I’m way faster. I’m way bigger. I’m
way stronger. My technique is better, so I don’t have to
worry about my diet as much,” he added. “When I come
home at night I’m not as sore, not nearly as sore as I used
to when I would train.
“It’s
a huge difference just having that extra meat on my bones.”
Trigg
accepted the fight with Phillips to challenge himself and to
see if what his trainers are telling him is true.
“The
reason why I chose John Phillips as my next opponent is because
I got knocked out by (Matt) Serra, and I got knocked out by Josh
Koscheck. So let’s just find out. Is it really an issue
where I was just too big trying to cut too much weight and couldn’t
recover in time to compete the next day, or is it one of those
deals where now that I’m at 185 and able to move and function
and be able to make things happen, or is it an issue where I
just suck and shouldn’t be out there fighting anymore? That’s
the question to be answered,” he said.
Discussing
the stylistic match-up, the 39-year-old fighter commented, “He’s
a good fighter. He’s 13-3. He has 12 stoppages by TKO and
the other one was by tapout, but the guy tapped out because he
was getting punched in the head.
“He
has a loss by punches, he has a loss by submission, and a loss
by decision,” Trigg told MMAWeekly Radio. “He’s
good and he’s big. This is a tough, tough kid.
“This
kid hits hard. He has one-punch knockout power,” said Trigg.
“And he’s getting better with his takedown defense
and he’s getting better off his back. If I do take him to
the ground; that’s going to be a struggle to get him to
the ground, and if I get him to the ground he’s pretty good
about fighting off his back and getting back to his feet. It’s
going to be interesting how this turns out.”
If
he loses, Trigg stopped short of saying he’d retire.
“I
can’t tell you how it really is until after the fight is
over,” said Trigg. “And hopefully from here I can adjust
and get better or we’re going to have to move on.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Titan
Fighting 18: Chance to Fight Jens Pulver Entices Brian Davidson
Out of Retirement
Brian
Davidson has not fought in the months following his knockout
victory over Shane Hutchinson at Bellator 32 last October for
good reason… retirement.
“My
wife and I were expecting the birth of our child, so my goal
was to go ahead and retire from fighting and focus on coaching,”
he told MMAWeekly.com. “I was pretty much going to retire
at that point, win or lose.”
While
he had continued to train with his fellow Team K2L Grindhouse
fighters in preparation for their fights, Davidson wasn’t
expecting to get a call to face one of MMA’s legends at
the upcoming Titan FC 18.
“My
management came to me and asked what I thought about fighting
Jens Pulver, and I though they were joking at first and asked
if they were serious,” admitted Davidson.
“I
took a night, slept on it, spoke to my wife and everything and
it was just something that I couldn’t pass up.”
While
he agreed to take the fight, things looked like they might not
work out, as Mike Powell was announced as the official opponent
for Pulver, only to be removed from the fight after suffering
a TKO loss in a fight in late April.
Davidson
re-entered the picture and now he faces the greatest challenge
of his career in Pulver, though he feels he has a unique advantage
over his more experienced opponent.
“I’m
a stand-up guy and he’s got great stand-up skills too, but
I’m from a traditional martial arts background and am a
Taekwondo world champion and I have some crazy, elusive kicks
like a lot of guys are doing these days,” said Davidson.
“It’s
actually started to evolve better in MMA and I have no fear of
throwing those strikes at all. That’s how I feel right now,
if I have an edge, (it would be that) he would probably have
a hard time finding a training partner to prepare for those kicks.”
While
neither fighter is exactly a spring chicken, Davidson feels he
can push the action all 15 minutes if need be and gain an advantage
that way.
“I’m
35 years old, but I feel like I’m in the body of a 25-year-old,”
he commented. “I’m 10 years older than half of the
guys in the gym, but I’m in better shape than most of them.
“I
can keep up a good pace, like a Dominick Cruz. Hopefully those
things will benefit me in this fight.”
Whether
or not Davidson will continue to fight after his bout with Pulver
depends on the way things go on May 27.
“I’m
getting some notoriety for this one, and if people will start
looking at me again, and look at my record a little closer, and
hopefully they’ll give me a shot against some notable fighters,”
he said.
“If
I go in there and Jens just mops the floor with me and I have
no business being there, I have no problem hanging up the gloves
and sticking with coaching.”
Having
made the decision to return from retirement for one more shot
at glory, a win at Titan FC 18 would not only put Davidson on
a winning streak, but could prolong his career a bit further.
“Everybody
come check out the show in Kansas City,” he concluded. “There’s
a lot of great guys on the card, including six of my Grindhouse
fighters.
“We’re
opening a new gym in Kansas City, so if anybody is in the area,
come check us out or find us on the web at GrindhouseKC.com or
on Facebook.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Jeff
Curran Satisfied with XFO Win, Looking for UFC Return
With
his win over Billy Vaughan at XFO 39 recently, Jeff “Big
Frog” Curran continues his comeback towards big time MMA.
“I
feel I performed good and fought a good, clean fight,” Curran
told MMAWeekly.com. “He was a last-minute replacement and
I didn’t know anything about him. Now as I watch the fight,
I see things I wish I would have done a little different, but
I fought well.
“For
starters he only landed maybe two punches and I had a few near
finishes and all my kicks were effective. Plus I just had all
the cage control. There was no question in my mind or judges
that I won the fight.”
Curran
is currently on a run that has him winning four of his last five
fights, which he attributes to a return to older ways and fan
support as big parts of his resurgence.
“I
have changed back to my older, healthier lifestyle,” he
said. “Clean food, hard work, and a clear vision of where
I want to be. These are the key elements.
“I
love my fans. This type of existence is a hard one if you have
no support. Fans offer a level of support that makes me feel
a big need to fight good and give back to them for supporting
me.”
Recent
reports had Curran considering retirement if he did not get a
shot at the UFC. When asked whether or not this is his outlook,
he responded, “This is a true statement.
“I
think the final element to me being at my best is to know I am
fighting at the highest level again. I can’t even find 135-pound
fights that are legit outside UFC. I want to focus on my fighters
and building my school rather than float around looking for the
next mid-tier fight for a little pay, (that’s) just not
what motivates me.”
Curran
recently moved back into his old family house to help get his
personal life in order, as well as spend time with his two- and
four-year-old sons, and continue to grow his business ventures,
including XFO and Team Curran.
“I
have big plans for XFO and continuing to build its brand,”
he stated. “XFO has three more pro shows scheduled for this
year, (and) we are headed back to the Sears Centre on Dec. 10
for another big show.
“Team
Curran has a big year as well (with) Bart (Palazsewski) in UFC,
Pat (Curran, Jeff’s cousin) in Bellator, Jens (Pulver) back
on TV with Titan, one of my other fighters I hope signing with
Strikeforce, and a few more guys turning pro. (It’s an)
exciting time around our gym.”
Following
a bad string of luck and ensuing losing streak, Curran is back
on track and has his sights set on returning to the top of the
MMA world.
“Thanks
to everyone for giving us all a platform to display our work
on,” he said in closing. “Without you MMA doesn’t
exist!
“Maybe
I can get Comeback Fighter of the Year and Coach of the Year
at the MMA awards this year.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
CSAC
Backtracks, Chael Sonnen Eligible to Reapply for a License after
June 29
The
California State Athletic Commission shifted gears on Friday,
backtracking on its stance that UFC middleweight contender Chael
Sonnen would have to wait a year beyond the expiration of his
license on June 29, 2011, to apply for a new license to fight
in California.
Sonnen
is currently under suspension in the state because of what CSAC
executive director George Dodd characterized as “testimony
(about) his discussion that he had with the Nevada State Athletic
Commission because that could have led some of the commissioners
to change or sway their vote as far as… the testosterone
use,” as well as concerns over his conviction in Oregon
on a Federal money laundering charge.
The
commission announced on Friday that it had erred in regards to
Rule 399 in the California Code of Regulations.
Rule
399 states that “any applicant who has been denied an application
for a license may not file a similar application until one year
from the date of the last previous denial by the commission.
“Any
application filed within the one year period may be denied without
the necessity of a hearing.
“Anyone
who has had his license revoked may not petition for reinstatement
or apply for a new license until one year after the date of such
revocation. Any petition for reinstatement filed within the one
year period may be denied without the necessity of a hearing.”
Sonnen’s
license was never denied nor revoked. He is under suspension
until the time his license expires on June 29.
So
Sonnen will be eligible to apply for a new license after his
current license expires. He would then have to appear at a hearing,
according to the commission, to apply for a new license. If his
application was denied at that time, then he would be ineligible
to reapply for another year from the time of the denial.
Even
if Sonnen were to reapply and be granted a license after the
June 29 date, MMAWeekly.com sources indicated that a possible
coaching slot opposite Michael Bisping on the 14th season of
“The Ultimate Fighter” is still off the table.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Georges
St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz Could Be Announced As Early As Next Week
It
appears the first major cross-promotional fight between the UFC
and Strikeforce could be coming to a head within the next few
days.
After
beating Jake Shields at UFC 129 in Toronto, it looked like Georges
St-Pierre had all but cleaned out the best of the best in the
welterweight division… except for one person. That one person
is on the verge of signing to face St-Pierre later this year
in a 170-pound title bout.
Nick
Diaz is likely to face St-Pierre for his next UFC welterweight
title defense in 2011, with all signs pointing towards a December
showdown in Montreal.
Sources
have indicated to MMAWeekly.com that a deal is imminent and the
fight could be announced as early as next week. Like any potential
deal, there is always the chance something could change at the
11th hour, but St-Pierre vs. Diaz is almost a certainty at this
point.
Signs
started pointing towards a St-Pierre/Diaz showdown almost as
soon as UFC 129 ended when UFC president Dana White fielded questions
from the press about the likelihood of the fight happening.
“I
imagine I could do whatever I wanted to do if I really wanted
to, but we have a contract with Showtime and he’s a Showtime
fighter. I don’t know, we’re going to have to see how
this whole thing works out. That’s an interesting fight,”
White said about Diaz coming over to face St-Pierre.
Following
that statement, Diaz was on the verge of signing a deal that
would have him fight former middleweight champion Jeff Lacy in
a boxing match, unless the UFC came forward with a deal to fight
St-Pierre.
“Unless
GSP is offered up as a sacrifice, Nick will fight Lacy,”
Diaz’s manager and trainer Cesar Gracie told MMAWeekly.com
on May 6.
Now
it looks like the UFC is ready to make the match-up happen.
More
signs started to point towards the fight being put together when
the UFC director of Canadian operations Tom Wright mentioned
a show targeted for Montreal in December, and admitted there
had been rumors about a St-Pierre/Diaz title fight.
“Well,
I’ve heard about the Nick Diaz-GSP fight, but it is too
early (to tell),” Wright said.
On
Thursday, Diaz was in Las Vegas meeting with White to discuss
his future plans, which included if he was going to box or stick
with MMA this year.
Neither
Gracie nor St-Pierre’s representation could be reached for
comment at the time of publication. Sources have indicated, however,
that the two fighters will meet later this year.
St-Pierre
has long stated that his preference was to stay in the welterweight
division, and while a super fight against UFC middleweight champion
Anderson Silva could happen at some point down the road, the
Brazilian is currently scheduled for a title defense of his own
in late August.
That
leaves St-Pierre with one major opponent left to face, Strikeforce
welterweight champion Nick Diaz.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
JJ:
Xande Ribeiro is out of Mundial 2011
Two-time
world absolute champion of Jiu-Jitsu and one of the greatest
names of the gentle art, Xade Ribeiro unfortunately won’t
be able to fight World of Jiu-Jitsu this year. The BJJ black
belt got his rib injured in World Professional of Abu Dhabi and
it started bothering him on the trainings. Check below more details
about the interview and the athlete’s injury, who talked
about his main opponent, Roger Gracie, and pointed out Rodolfo
Vieira as the big name of the competition.
Will
you be left off the World this year?
In
World Pro I’ve got my rib injury, and I got hurt on the
trainings too. I only started doing things again this week. I’ve
just moved to Los Angeles, opening my gym here, so there’re
many things happening at the same time. I decided not to fight,
I’ll just return (to Jiu-Jitsu competitions) next year,
but I’ll get my rib healed and I’ll fight ADCC.
How
did this injury happen? Have you started training after the tournament?
A
rib injury is a pretty hard thing, because you may think you’re
doing fine and you go and get injured again. I got it twisted
while fighting the no gi World Pro, but then I started training
again with no pain and I got injured again in World pro with
the gi, when I fought Lagarto. God bless me, I’ll train
and and I’ll make it in ADCC.
Did
it upset you?
Injuries
have been fortune. I got injured in ADCC (2009), in World…
I come back and then I get injured, but I’ll try to train
harder and come stronger each year that comes by. The guys have
a great conditioning and we have to keep up to that. I’ll
turn it up again.
How
will it be World without Xande VS. Roger?
I
guess it loses that thrill. Everybody liked seeing me fighting
Roger… He’s the number one, and I consider myself to
be the number two, and that sucks for me and for him. Now I’m
off, he still doesn’t know if he’ll fight or not, but
it gives opportunity to the newcomers. From the bad things that
could’ve happened, this update and this opportunity for
the newcomers will be a good thing. I really like watching Roger
fighting, he has a simple game style and that makes difference
on a long championship. But I guess it’ll be cool if he
doesn’t fight, it’ll give people an extra thrill, because
there are many newcomers.
Who
would you point out as the strongest name?
Rodolfo
is fighting hard, he has a strong and efficient Judo. He’s
a little advantage against everybody in the world, because he
has a good state of mind, and that’s really important. And,
there may come a new champion and next year me and Roger come
back there to fight against this young guys.
Source: Tatame |
Ninja
retires from MMA
The
year 2011 hasn’t been an easy one on MMA fans. After Randy
Couture, Ricardo Cachorrão and Kevin Randleman hung up
their gloves, Murilo Ninja has now joined the list of recent
retirees.
The
exciting Chute Boxe fighter of days gone announced over Twitter
that he is calling an end to his career after losing to Tom Watson
by knockout at Bamma yesterday in London, England. The fight
was worth the promotional title.
“I’d
like to officially announce this evening that I am retiring from
professional MMA,” he tweeted.
“It
was a fantastic trip and this is a very difficult moment. But
there comes a time for everything in life. I’m proud of
everything I’ve done in MMA and all the experiences I’ve
had in this profession that I lovingly embraced. I’m going
to carry on working with MMA by teaching seminars, class, training
athletes, and doing my part to help this sport that I love so
much,” said Ninja, before thanking some special people in
his life. “Life goes on, the memories remain forever, and
MMA will always be a part of my life. Thank you all very much!”
Also
over Twitter, his brother Mauricio Shogun remarked on the end
of Ninja’s career in the ring. “I’m proud of him.
If MMA is where it is today, it’s because of warriors like
him,” said Shogun.
An
idol from the days of Pride FC, where he fought between 2001
and 2006, Murilo “Ninja” Rua (20w, 12l) was born in
1980 and had memorable battles against Dan Henderson, Ricardo
Arona, Zé Mario Sperry, Kevin Randleman, Joey Villaseñor
and Quinton Jackson.
Source: Gracie Magazine |
Atos’s
big hopes for 2011 Worlds
The
stars of team Atos are hard at it in Rio Claro, São Paulo,
and there’s no pointing out a firm favorite to be the biggest
star from the outfit at the 2011 Worlds. Rafael and Gui Mendes,
André Galvão, Ary Farias, Bruno Frazatto, Gilbert
Durinho, Guto Campos and others are all in tip-top shape and
California-bound to take on what promises to be a electrifying
championship, but there are other soldiers from their ranks,
too.
The
team’s high command is already pointing out a number of
promises for this Worlds. They are young champions who have been
having impeccable campaigns over the year so far, with recently-promoted
brown belt Ronaldo Candido among them. Light featherweight Candido
won the Brazilian Nationals as a purple belt last year and the
Pan in 2011. On his debut as a brown belt he won last Sunday’s
2011 Brazilian Nationals. “Our money’s on him to be
world champion,” ventures Guilherme Mendes, who will also
compete as a light featherweight, but at black belt.
Another
standout is Denilson Bischiliari, a purple belt who GRACIEMAG.com
has already highlighted as one of the athletes to watch out for
this season. “Denilson won two World Pro qualifiers, won
in Abu Dhabi, and won the Pan. He’s really dedicated, trains
with the black belts and is always competing. For sure he’ll
reap what he is sowing,” says Rafael Mendes in praise.
Among
those from the less advanced belt groups to compete in Long Beach,
Walker Pacheco is the big hope at blue belt. Other Atos aces
in the Worlds mix are Marcelo Tarso (purple belt) and Bruna Ribeiro,
Ralph Go and Alan Salgado (brown).
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Amanda
Nunes Meets Julie Kedzie at Strikeforce on June 18
Strikeforce
MMA LogoA women’s bout has been added to the upcoming Strikeforce
fight card on June 18 with Amanda Nunes taking on Julie Kedzie
in a welterweight fight at 135 pounds. Sources close to the match-up
confirmed the fight to MMAWeekly.com, with bout agreements issued
for the contest.
Amanda
Nunes (6-1) made an impressive debut for Strikeforce in January
when she knocked out highly touted prospect Julia Budd in the
first round in only 14 seconds. Nunes could be a top contender
in the women’s welterweight division, but she’ll have
to get through one of the craftiest veterans in the sport to
earn it.
Julie
Kedzie (16-8) makes her first official appearance for Strikeforce
after a career that has seen the Greg Jackson trained fighter
compete in several organizations, including EliteXC and Bodog
Fights.
Kedzie
is currently riding a four-fight win streak into the June 18
Overeem vs. Werdum fight card, including wins over Kaitlin Young
and Sarah D’Alelio, who faces Gina Carano at the same event.
Kedzie
and Nunes will battle as a part of the undercard for the June
18 show at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
145lbs
Matt Comeau vs. David Padilla
170lbs
Thomas Sedano vs. Bryson Kamaka
155lbs
Kris Kyle vs. Brensen Hansen
140lbs
Monica Franco vs. Rachael Ostovich
170lbs
Bruski Louis vs. L. John Borges
Heavyweight
Doug Hiu vs. Blayn Wagoner
155lbs
Eric Dean vs. Ryan Delacruz
135lbs
Drake Fujimoto vs. Jared Iha
125lbs
Keenin Cohen vs. Joey Balai
Heavyweight
Chris Bernard vs. Terrence Taanoa
185lbs
Apuauro Turano vs. Ezekiel Gonda
165lbs
Justin Burgess vs. Jacob Chun
145lbs
Nathan Maglinti vs. Cassius Kegler
125lbs
Jared Gonda vs. Jason Dumoal
135lbs
Kevin Natividad vs. Kolten Choy Foo
Source: 808 Battleground
|
MAN
UP & STAND UP
WAIPAHU FILCOM CENTER
SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2011
DOORS OPEN AT 6:00
Here we go again with another Man-up & Stand-up getting ready
to blow the top off of the Waipahu Filcom on May 28. If you love
to watch guys who stand and bang then this is the event for you.
There will be 5 title defenses with the main event featuring
two undefeated giants meeting in the middle of the ring to see
who will walk out with the super heavyweight title. Eric “The
Executioner” Edwards is gonna defend his title against another
westsider named Ben Boyce that has never left the ring without
the referee raising his hand. Eric is definitely the seasoned
veteran who executes every weapon in his arsenal to its full
potential. Ben is the fearless newcomer that welcomes any challenge.
He is built like a stonewall and hopes he wears the same size
shoes as Eric because they are some big shoes to fill. Make sure
you’re there to see if the Executioner has what it takes
to bring down a stonewall.
Two mma fighters will test their stand up skills with light heavyweight
champion Jessie Lindley battling Miller Ualesei. Everyone knows
Jessie for his right hook which helped him snatch the belt from
the former champion Charles Hazelwood. If you weren’t there
then you missed out a great display of pain endurance. Jessie
took leg kick after leg kick just to land his hands. He’s
as tough as they make them. Miller hasn’t fought too much
kickboxing because he prefers the mma scene and has been doing
very well in mma but has been inactive for a while. Miller had
better find some kind of strategy to breakdown this champion
because this champion can handle some pain. Be there to see what
Miller’s game plan is to turn this champion to former champion
status.
Richard “Hit too Hard” Barnard is back on Man-up &
Stand-up to defend his title. He pursued a mma career after kickboxing
and we all know how that turned out, nah. But he has made his
way back to his roots in hopes of retaining his title against
a hungry muay thai fighter who goes by the name of Solomon Amadeo
who trains under the popular veteran kickboxer Tony Rodrigues
so you know Solomon will be bringing some skills to the table.
Hopefully Richard will be able to avoid what Solomon will be
serving. On a good note, Richard has been training with the legend
that thought Tony Rodrigues. We all know him as Pops so this
fight will be skills vs skills. May the best man win.
Dennis “The Meanest” Montira will also be defending
his title against a person who once held his title, Evan Quizon.
Aawh yeah, you know the speed, the power and the accuracy will
be making a special appearance together in this fight. Dennis
is the shorter of the two but please do not count this hammer
out. He brings the knees, the leg kicks and the hands to the
party with or without an invitation. Evan is a smart fighter
that relies on timing, mistakes and quick counters. Two different
styles, two different sizes with two of them having the same
goal which is to bring the belt back home. Can Evan take back
what was once his or will Dennis have the party on lockdown.
Be there
Also Ethan Kerfoot will finally do battle against Joseph Garcia
for the Middle weight title that is worn by Ethan Kerfoot. These
two young boys were suppose two bang in the last two events.
This time its on like mochi crunch and popcorn. So be sure to
get your tickets and be ready for some stand up action at its
best. Man-up & Stand-up has it all from 6 years old to you
name the age. May 28 at the Waipahu Filcom. Das right.
CAN YOU PLEASE POST THIS VIDEO ON YOUR WEBSITE. THANKS
UPDATED CARD
ERIC EDWARDS 210+ BEN BOYCE
ELYJAH LAGAFUAINA 200 TROY
EDDIE CENTIO 130 ANU REING-ABY
DONTEZ COLEMAN 125 NALU H.
JESSIE LINDLEY 185 MILLER UALESEI
PAUL AUSTRIA 130 NEVADA HARRISON
DENNIS MONTEIRA 130 EVAN QUIZON
CHANCE CERO 65 KONA BOY
JONAH CARTER 60 KAMAKANI WAIALAE
KAYLIN STAFFORD 125 ELIAS VELASCO
JACOB CARTER 55 KOA
PONO MALAMA 150 LANCE BELL
JUSTIN FONOTE 175 SCOTT ENDO
JEFF LAGAMAN 145 KAI KUNITOMO
ITO SUALAAU 185 ROB CONNELL
CHRISTIAN BAUTISTA 170 WALTER WALKER
RICHARD BARNARD 152 SOLOMON AMADEO
SOFA TASALI 220 CYRUSS KONDO
RAYMOND TAFAKA 150 ANDREW QUIZON
RADRAJAH BRAZWELL 85 RAYMOND DAQUEDON
JOSEPH GARCIA 160 ETHAN KERFOOT
NUI WHEELER 145 IKAIKA TAMPOS
All matches & participants may be subject to change.
Source: Derrick Bright
|
MARTIAL
ARTS SEMINAR
Come and participate in this exciting martial art seminar taught
by some of the best and most experienced instructors around.
This 5-hour seminar will consist of techniques and strategies
from Kajukenbo, Chuan-fa, Wun Hop Kuen Do, Muay Thai, and White
Crane and Hop Gar Kung Fu systems. Come one, come all. Hurry!
Space is limited. Call Sigung Trent Sera at 205-9133 to pre-register.
WHEN: Sunday, June 26, 2011
8 a.m. – 1 p.m.
WHERE: Binhi at Ani C.C. (780 Onehee Ave., Kahului, Maui, across
from Maui Waena Intermediate School)
INSTRUCTORS:
Professor Frank Trujillo-School-Thai Bo Ka-Chuan-fa School
Muay Thai-Kick Boxer
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Professor
Ben Narciso-School-United Martial Art System
Karate-Kung-fu
Honolulu, HI
Sifu
Dennis Apeles-School-White Crane & Hop Gar System
Kung-fu
Honolulu, HI
Sifu
Al Dela Cruz-School-Kajukenbo Chuan-fa Kung-fu School
Honolulu, HI
Sifu
Al Dacascos-School-Wun Hop Kuen Do-Kajukenbo
Honolulu, HI
COST: $25.00 per person (pre-registered by May 31, 2011)
$35 per person (at the door)
CONTACT: Sigung Trent Sera
Sera’s Kajukenbo
(808) 205-9133
Source:
Trent Sera
|
Big
Boys Toys & MMA Hawaii Expo 2011
Neal Blaisdell
Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
June 17, 18 & 19, 2011
A
mixed martial arts exposition featuring companies and organization
promoting their products and services, displays, entertainment,
special appearances, games, giveaways, and contests.
*
Mixed Martial Arts Events
* Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu & Submission Grappling Tournament
* Special Guests Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez,
UFC Fighters Jake Shields, Chris Leben and Kendall Grove, and
X1 World Middleweight Champion Falaniko Vitale
* Automobiles & Motorcycles
* Electronics & Gadgets
* Watersports
* Clothing Exhibitors
* Entertainment
* Interactive Participation
|
Genesis
“76 South Showdown Kickboxing”
Campbell H.S. Gym, Ewa Beach, Hawaii
June 10, 2011
5:30PM Event starts
|
Bellator
Exploring Accident Insurance for Fighters
By Ariel
Helwani
Since launching in 2009, Bellator Fighting Championships has
tried to separate itself from the UFC in many ways: tournaments
to crown champions, seasons, events held every week are just
a few concepts that come to mind.
But
Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said on Monday's episode of The MMA
Hour that he wouldn't mind copying the UFC in one particular
department: accident insurance for fighters.
"I
can tell you I've been reading all of the articles and all the
spokespersons for the UFC have said that it's been a long and
exhaustive process," Rebney said, "and there were very
few carriers that were willing to execute on it, there were very
few people that were willing to provide the insurance that they
were seeking.
"I
can tell you first hand that I know that to be true because we
have been looking for alternatives on that front for over a year
ourselves. It's not an easy policy to obtain, it's not easy to
put into motion, but I think it's great for the sport; I think
it's great for the fighters. It's something that we are going
to continue to look at, and I say kudos for the UFC for pulling
it off."
Providing
accident insurance for fighters is an expensive undertaking,
and it's understandable that the UFC, which is 16 years older
than Bellator, would be better suited to pull it off today.
But
despite the fact that Bellator is just two years old and generating
nowhere near the kind of revenue Zuffa is, Rebney recognizes
that insurance is needed and is a perk he hopes to offer his
fighters in the future.
I
think that the reality is, and I get to see it day in and day
out, but very few of the fighters that we or Zuffa have under
contract are in a position in their economic life to be able
to afford health insurance to protect themselves against injuries
that occur inside the cage when they are training. Of course,
everyone that fights for Zuffa or Bellator is covered once they
step into the cage in competition, but training for mixed martial
arts is not like training for golf. You're in there battling
on a day in and day out basis and injuries occur."
Bellator
45, the final event of Bellator's fourth season, will air live
on MTV2 this Saturday night from Lake Charles, La.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Report:
Ricco Rodriguez Arrested in Arizona
Former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez has reportedly
been arrested in Ahwatukee, Ariz., following an alleged assault
and resisting arrest.
Phoenix
Fox affiliate KSAZ reported Wednesday evening that the 33-year-old
Pride Fighting Championships and UFC veteran was taken into custody
over the weekend for allegedly assaulting a cab driver and struggling
with police officers just south of the state’s capital city.
A
native of Staten Island, N.Y., Rodriguez is accused of throwing
the cab driver to the ground following a dispute over a $75 taxi
fare. According to the report, police representatives stated
it took three officers to control the 6-foot-4 fighter.
“It’s
our policy to handcuff behind -- that did not occur. He was struggling
with the officers, flailing his arms ...” Sgt. Steve Martos
told Fox 10 Phoenix.
Rodriguez
(46-11) had a perfect 3-0 mark in Pride before winning his first
five UFC bouts and claiming the promotion’s heavyweight
title from Randy Couture in September 2002. Following a crushing
knockout loss to Tim Sylvia in his first title defense, the Brazilian
jiu-jitsu black belt represented the UFC at “Pride Total
Elimination 2003,” where he suffered a controversial decision
defeat to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Many fans and pundits alike
scored the contest for Rodriguez, who then competed on the big
stage for a final time in a lackluster decision loss against
Pedro Rizzo.
The
journeyman fighter has won 11 straight bouts, and last saw action
against “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10 cast member
James McSweeney Feb. 26 at BAMMA 5.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Bellator
Exploring Accident Insurance for Fighters
By Ariel
Helwani
Since
launching in 2009, Bellator Fighting Championships has tried
to separate itself from the UFC in many ways: tournaments to
crown champions, seasons, events held every week are just a few
concepts that come to mind.
But
Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said on Monday's episode of The MMA
Hour that he wouldn't mind copying the UFC in one particular
department: accident insurance for fighters.
"I
can tell you I've been reading all of the articles and all the
spokespersons for the UFC have said that it's been a long and
exhaustive process," Rebney said, "and there were very
few carriers that were willing to execute on it, there were very
few people that were willing to provide the insurance that they
were seeking.
"I
can tell you first hand that I know that to be true because we
have been looking for alternatives on that front for over a year
ourselves. It's not an easy policy to obtain, it's not easy to
put into motion, but I think it's great for the sport; I think
it's great for the fighters. It's something that we are going
to continue to look at, and I say kudos for the UFC for pulling
it off."
Providing
accident insurance for fighters is an expensive undertaking,
and it's understandable that the UFC, which is 16 years older
than Bellator, would be better suited to pull it off today.
But
despite the fact that Bellator is just two years old and generating
nowhere near the kind of revenue Zuffa is, Rebney recognizes
that insurance is needed and is a perk he hopes to offer his
fighters in the future.
"I
think that the reality is, and I get to see it day in and day
out, but very few of the fighters that we or Zuffa have under
contract are in a position in their economic life to be able
to afford health insurance to protect themselves against injuries
that occur inside the cage when they are training. Of course,
everyone that fights for Zuffa or Bellator is covered once they
step into the cage in competition, but training for mixed martial
arts is not like training for golf. You're in there battling
on a day in and day out basis and injuries occur."
Bellator
45, the final event of Bellator's fourth season, will air live
on MTV2 this Saturday night from Lake Charles, La.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
UFC
133 Fight Card: Ivan Menjivar Steps Up to Face Nick Pace
by Ken
Pishna
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship on Thursday night announced a
bantamweight match-up between Ivan Menjivar and Nick Pace for
its return to Philadelphia.
“Bantamweights
Ivan Menjivar and Nick Pace have agreed to fight each other Aug.
6 at UFC 133 in Philadelphia,” said UFC president Dana White.
“Menjivar is coming off a devastating elbow knockout win
and Pace utilized a rarely seen type of submission to secure
the victory in his last outing.”
Menjivar
(22-8) made his Octagon debut UFC 129 in Toronto, where he laid
Charlie Valencia out with a short elbow that broke his nose a
minute-and-a-half into the opening round. It was a positive turn
of events for Menjivar after losing a decision to Brad Pickett
in his first fight under the Zuffa banner at WEC 53.
Pace
(6-1) is at a deficit in the experience department against Menjivar,
but he is also riding high after his UFC debut. Pace submitted
Will Campuzano at “The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team
Koscheck” finale in December with a Pillory choke. The submission
is similar in nature to a triangle choke, but utilizes an arm
and leg of the fighter applying the hold to form a triangular
constriction.
Pace
was originally slated to face Michael McDonald at UFC 133. McDonald,
however, was called upon to replace Norifumi “Kid”
Yamamoto at next week’s UFC 130 in Las Vegas.
A
light heavyweight feature bout between former champion Rashad
Evans and Phil Davis is currently slotted in as the UFC 133 main
event on Aug. 6 in Philadelphia.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Fistic
Medicine: The Zach Kirk Saga Part 2
by Matt
Pit
Zach
Kirk knew he would be facing a dangerous opponent at his May
2009 fight at the National Guard Armory in Shenandoah, Iowa.
He did not know that he would be facing the entire Iowa legislature.
In
April 2007, the Iowa legislature voted to de-regulate MMA. The
sport would be legal -- there were not enough votes to ban MMA
outright -- but the state would “get out of the regulation
business.” The bill’s aim, expressed unambiguously
by its leading advocate, Iowa Sen. Bill Dotzler, was to minimize
the financial cost of MMA-related injuries to the state.
The
UFC, as well as prominent Iowa MMA fighters and promoters, attempted
to educate the Iowa legislature on the risks of unregulated MMA.
They were ignored. The senators knew what they knew.
“Basically,
the only thing that’s not allowed is a blow to the back
of the neck or a blow to the groin,” Dotzler explained.
“If you try to regulate this to make it safe, that pretty
much bans the sport.”
“A
serious injury will [inevitably] occur,” the senator acknowledged
to a concerned MMA fan, but there was no need to fear. De-regulation
would shift financial liability to “those individuals who
want to profit from this barbaric sport ... they will be the
ones held liable and not the state of Iowa.”
Once
the legislature had safely dealt with deflecting the financial
costs of the sport, no thought was given to the human costs of
unregulated MMA. It was, as the UFC’s Mark Ratner stated
at the time, the “most nonsensical” decision imaginable.
Two
years later, when Kirk entered the ring for the last time, the
state of amateur MMA in Iowa was a disgrace. Professional MMA
was overseen by the state’s boxing authority, but the amateur
sport was a free for all. No blood tests for HIV or Hepatitis
were required. No proof of age. No proof of sobriety. No physicians
ringside. No ambulance in attendance. No drug testing. Certainly
no health and life insurance for the fighters. Iowa prison riots
were more safely conducted.
Prior
to his fight, Kirk claims he had asked the promoter, Craig McIntosh,
of Torment MMA, if he was carrying insurance for the fight. Of
course, McIntosh allegedly assured him. Good. It was only weeks
later, laying paralyzed in a hospital bed facing wave after wave
of medical bills, that Kirk discovered the truth. The insurance
purchased by McIntosh covered injuries to the fans in attendance
-- who might sue the promoter -- but not injuries to the fighters
in the ring.
Beyond
some savings, Kirk had nothing to pay his bills. Torment MMA
put on a benefit event from which Kirk received a slim $1,000.
After that, Kirk has not heard or received anything from the
promoter. In days, Kirk went bankrupt. The rest of Kirk’s
medical care costs -- hundreds of thousands of dollars -- was
paid for by the citizens of Iowa. The very situation predicted
in 2007 by prescient Iowa Sen. James Seymor when the de-regulation
bill came to a vote had come to pass.
“We
may protect the state from liability,” Seymor had conceded
to Dotzler and his supporters, “but I would submit to you
that someone who is permanently disabled is likely to end up
at the state’s cost for the rest of their lives for medical
treatment. The state loses either way.”
The
only possible winner was the promoter. In a situation analogous
to the national economic crisis occurring at the same time, the
profits associated with amateur MMA were privatized -- kept by
the promoter -- while the financial costs of those risks were
borne by the taxpayers. More bluntly, as a friend of Kirk’s
said, “Craig wanted Zach for the show. He used Zach’s
name to make money, and as soon as Zach got hurt, he didn’t
give a [expletive].”
In
the fall of 2009, public outrage with the disgraceful state of
affairs in amateur MMA forced the Iowa legislature to reconsider
MMA sanctioning and regulation. In addition to widespread awareness
of Kirk’s injury, an Iowa MMA referee named Franklin DeToye
wrote a graphic and disturbing letter to the state’s boxing
commission, detailing the abuses he had witnessed in the world
of Iowa amateur MMA. The Senate, which just two years prior had
de-regulated MMA by a vote of 35-12, voted unanimously to subject
amateur MMA to the same protections as professional MMA.
Current
Iowa law -- signed into effect in February 2010 -- requires all
Iowa MMA promoters to be state licensed. Promoters must insure
their fighters are at least 18 years old and have routine communicable
blood borne disease testing. A physician must be on hand for
each fight, and $25,000 in health insurance and $20,000 in life
insurance must be purchased for each fighter.
These
protections are not a panacea. They most likely would not have
protected Kirk from injury, but they will protect an uncounted
multitude of amateur fighters from some of the financial costs
and human toll of less grievous injuries.
As
the law’s opponents argue, the financial costs to promoters
and fighters are non-trivial. Some promoters -- like the Amsterdam
Gentleman’s Club, which boasted “run what you brung
type MMA” with no formal fighter protections -- have quit
the business. The $100 fee for required blood work, and the fewer
venues for amateur fighting, keeps many would-be MMA fighters
away from competitions where they can hone their skills and prove
their talent.
Among
the supporters of the 2010 Iowa MMA law are a few unexpected
names. First and foremost, the man who sponsored the bill de-regulating
the sport in 2007: Sen. Dotzler. He became concerned about fighter
exploitation after the son of a constituent -- according to a
report in the Omaha World-Herald -- was injured in a legal-but-unregulated
amateur fight. And Mcintosh, who purchased insurance to protect
himself from lawsuits but not to protect his fighters, has voiced
his support for the Iowa law, as noted in the same Omaha World-Herald
report. Dotzler and McIntosh were contacted regarding this report.
They have not responded to requests for comment.
Perhaps
the most interesting supporter of state sanctioning of MMA is
a young fighter named Jon “Bones” Jones. In his home
state of New York, MMA needlessly exists in a wholly unregulated
and often dangerous state. In a letter published in the Rochester
Democrat & Chronicle the night of his championship fight
against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Jones listed and demolished
the arguments of MMA opponents.
“MMA
isn’t for everyone,” he stated. “But to call it
brutal is to misunderstand the sport, its athletes and its fans.
We’re not masochists, we’re college graduates, role
models, Olympic champions. We have a greater safety record than
the NFL and boxing, and with millions of fans, we are not going
away.”
Hopefully,
the New York legislature will not wait for a Zach Kirk of its
own before deeming MMA fighters as fully deserving of state protection
and regulation as any other athlete.
Matt
Pitt is a physician with degrees in biophysics and medicine.
He is board-certified in emergency medicine and has post-graduate
training in head injuries and multi-system trauma. To ask a question
that could be answered in a future article, e-mail him at mpitt@sherdog.com.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Ze
Mario Sperry sees Renzo Gracie in advantage at ADCC 2011 super
fight
By Guilherme
Cruz
BJJ
black belt graduated by Carlson Gracie, Ze Mario Sperry has a
great history in fighting. World champion of Jiu-Jitsu and absolute
champion of ADCC, keeping the title after two super fights, the
tough guy will return to the mats this year, on a match-up fight,
in ADCC 2011, against another legend of the sport: Renzo Gracie.
“I
was caught by surprise”, reveals the black belt, on an exclusive
interview with TATAME, commenting on his expectations for the
duel on which he promise to be always remembered and also talking
about his life in general, betting on an advantage of his opponent
when it comes to “fighting rhythm”, and analyzing the
bout between Royler Gracie vs. Eddie Bravo, scheduled for the
same ADCC edition, and Braulio Estima vs. Ronaldo Jacare, a super
fight that will figure one of the main events of the tournament.
How
did you get the invitation to fight in ADCC?
Man,
I was caught by surprise. The guys from the Arab Emirates and
they invited me and I got tempted, despite I’m not fighting
anymore, I’m not training frequently or taking it serious.
I was tempted with the invitation, especially since it’s
a bout against Renzo, a great name in the sport.
You
two are close to Sheik... Do you know who the idea came from?
Man,
I believe it was him (Sheik)… I gotta tell you that I have
no clue whatsoever of who came up with this idea.
What
do you hope when fighting Renzo?
You
see, in my point of view, it’s a great opportunity to me
to relive that thrill of all that I’ve been through in ADCC,
and try, in a way, to return to the sport with this invitation,
but I’m not fighting for a long time… I don’t
train on regular basis, I’m not that excited about competing
anymore. I believe that that’s the greatest legacy I’ve
got with this invitation: to feel again the thrill of being competing.
It’s priceless.
Renzo’s
been teaching on his gym in New York and he’s been coaching
guys like St. Pierre and Frankie Edgar, both UFC champions. Do
you think it’ll be an advantage he’ll have against
you, since he’s training and teaching every day?
Absolutely.
Renzo’s on the fighting business, and I’m not, I don’t
fight for a living anymore for years. It’ll be an advantage
for him, for sure. But, apart from that, I want to take it as
a self-pleasure, I’ll try to get back in shape the best
way I can and do a good presentation.
What
have you been doing since you stopped fighting?
I
got into a business. I’d rather not talk about it for now
(laughs).
But
are you still training hard? What do you do then?
Man,
to tell you the truth, I don’t. I train when I can. I run,
I work out, I try to be in touch with the sport as much as I
can, but obviously I don’t do it for a living anymore, so
I’m not that close as I used to be.
Where
will you train for this bout?
I’ll
train here with my friends. I know lot of people in Rio de Janeiro.
Basically it’ll be it. I’ll try to train the most I
can, when I have the time to do it, I will.
Do
you consider training at BTT?
I’ll
train here in Barra (in Rio de Janeiro), because it’s easier
for me. There’re the guys from X-Gym, where I work out.
There are many guys here. It’s hard to find some time to
train, but I’ll take it as a challenge, so let’s move
on and see where it goes.
They’ve
also matched a bout between Royler and Eddie Bravo. What do you
hope to see on this fight?
Well,
I believe Royler is more likely to win this one. Each bout is
unique, and it’s always hard. But I guess Royler has more
game, he’s aware of Eddie Bravo’s strong points, so
he’ll come hungry for winning… Let’s see. I believe
Royler will crave this win like crazy.
Since
their first bout, eight years ago, Eddie Bravo has been focusing
his trainings with no gi. Do you believe it can be an X factor
for this bout against Royler?
It’s
hard to tell because I don’t know what Royler is up to,
I don’t know what Eddie Bravo has been doing, but looking
at their record, Royler has done much more, so I believe he’s
capable of winning this bout. Absolutely his name will be a factor
and, this time, I guess he’ll be more focused on it than
he was when they last fought… He’ll be more focused
and prepared this time.
There’s
also the super fight between Braulio, who earned weight and absolute
titles in 2009, versus Ronaldo, who has defeated Drysdale. How
do you think it’ll end like?
It’ll
be a very busy fight, they’ll move a lot. Braulio is dangerous,
he has a great spin, his guard imposes a strong rhythm, he can
be attack you from anywhere. I believe it’ll be a busy fight
and it’ll all depend on whoever is stronger, focused and
better conditioned.
Source:
Tatame
|
The
forgotten UFC June 2011 non-PPV fight cards
By Zach Arnold
Ultimate
Fighter Finale (TUF 13) 6/4 Las Vegas (The Pearl at The Palms)
Bantamweights:
Reuben Duran vs. Francisco Rivera
Lightweights: Danny Downes vs. Jeremy Stephens
Bantamweights: Scott Jorgensen vs. Ken Stone
Featherweights: Josh Grispi vs. George Roop
Middleweights: Ed Herman vs. Tim Credeur
Light Heavyweights: Kyle Kingsbury vs. Fabio Maldonado
Lightweights: Clay Guida vs. Anthony Pettis
UFC Live
on Versus 6/26 Pittsburgh (CONSOL Energy Center)
Lightweights:
Michael Johnson vs. Edward Faaloloto
Lightweights: Ricardo Lamas vs. Matt Grice
Lightweights: Nik Lentz vs. Charles Oliveira
Welterweights: Matt Brown vs. Rich Attonito
Lightweights: Joe Lauzon vs. Curt Warburton
Lightweights: Joe Stevenson vs. Javier Vazquez
Featherweights: Tyson Griffin vs. Manny Gamburyan
Heavyweights: Matt Mitrione vs. Christian Morecraft
Welterweights: Martin Kampmann vs. John Howard
Heavyweights: Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry
Welterweights: Nate Marquardt vs. Anthony “Rumble”
Johnson
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Fistic
Medicine: The Zach Kirk Saga Part 1
by Matt
Pitt
Zach
Kirk got hooked on mixed martial arts in March 2009. A longtime
UFC fan, he picked up a promoter’s flyer at a local gas
station, made a call, got briefed on the rules and strapped on
the gloves.
“I
got in the cage, and they’re saying my name, and I had a
huge adrenaline rush!” he says. “It was huge!”
Two
months later the sport he loved nearly destroyed his young life.
Supplementing
a wrestling base honed in high school with one week of informal
MMA training, Kirk won his first fight by second-round corner
stoppage. A month later, he TKO’d his opponent in the fight’s
first minute, a thrilling performance that earned him a great
opportunity -- fighting before a hometown crowd on May 27 at
the National Guard Armory in Shenandoah, Iowa. A shot at the
title would go to the winner.
“I
couldn’t wait for the fight!” Kirk recalls.
Kirk’s
fight was that night’s main event. The hall was packed.
The bell rang, the fighters touched gloves and Kirk threw a left
jab followed by a right. Seven seconds into the fight -- less
than 12 minutes into his career as a mixed martial artist --
Kirk lunged into a double-leg takedown. His opponent defended
with a routine standing guillotine choke, leaning his weight
forward into Kirk. Kirk moved to drop the fight to the ground,
arms and legs became entangled and Kirk fell headfirst to the
mat. His fifth cervical vertebra shattered, bone fragments ground
into his spinal cord and Kirk suddenly went limp.
The
last fight of his MMA career was over, and the toughest fight
of his life had just begun. The instant the injury occurred,
Kirk knew he was badly hurt.
“I
knew I couldn’t feel nothing,” Kirk says. “I was
just scared -- scared from right there.”
Seconds
later, the referee pulled Kirk’s opponent off of him. EMT
personnel on the scene rushed him to Creighton University Medical
Center, where three hours of emergency neurologic surgery ensued.
Kirk’s crushed fifth vertebrae was bolstered with bone harvested
from his pelvis. He survived his first 24 hours. The easy part
was over. Two days later, doctors took him off sedation and Kirk
awoke. He was paralyzed from the neck down.
“The
only pain was mental,” he says. “It was hard for me
to lay there and think how I’m not going to be able to play
ball with my son and teach him the things a father does.”
The
nerves that provide movement to the arms originate from the Cervical
5 to Thoracic 1 levels of the spinal cord. Had the injury been
a few levels higher -- had Kirk injured C2, as did Christopher
Reeve -- Kirk would have lost function in the muscles of respiration,
as well as his arms and legs, and probably would have died at
the Armory.
Family
and friends visited the hospital to bouy his spirits. Houston
Alexander paid him several visits. Other fighters and referee
“Big” John McCarthy sent shirts and posters to his
bedside. From his bed, immobile, Kirk gave interviews defending
MMA’s safety to local media. After acute recovery from surgery,
Kirk was sent to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln,
Neb.
“Rehab
was a great experience,” he says. “I was there for
about two months. They told me I wouldn’t have any movement
from the neck down, but now I can move both my arms and my left
wrist.”
Kirk’s
greatest medical asset -- more powerful than any physician or
drug -- is his mind. He is the sort of patient with whom therapists
love to work: optimistic, committed, endowed with an athlete’s
psyche and body.
“My
goal is to keep doing therapy -- I call it training -- until
I win this fight,” Kirk says.
He
does three hours of daily therapy at home and works with a spinal
cord injury therapy specialist twice a week.
“I
want to be able to play ball with my son, Dominic, and teach
him things,” Kirk says. “He -- and my friends and family
-- keep me motivated. Without them, I don’t know where I’d
be or how much improvement I would’ve made.”
Kirk
uses a special tool to send text messages and type on a computer.
With concentration, he can move his foot a few millimeters.
“I
wake up every morning and just try to move each muscle, seeing
if something came back in the night,” he says. “I try
to start each day positive.”
The
prospects for Kirk’s further recovery are not good. Medical
science offers very little for spinal cord injury patients; damaged
neurons in the central nervous system, the brain and spinal cord,
simply do not regenerate. At some point, stem cell therapy may
offer some hope, but that day lies on a distant horizon. Statistically,
Kirk’s life expectancy is 40 years of age.
Zach
Kirk’s injury is the sort of tragedy opponents of MMA use
as the foundation for their arguments against the sport’s
legalization. They fear that, as MMA grows in popularity, the
incidence of catastrophic injuries such as Kirk’s will rise.
They are right. It most certainly will, but their arguments about
MMA’s unusual dangers run afoul of the facts.
Of
the immediate reactions to Kirk’s injury -- horror, outrage,
grief -- there was very little surprise. Iowa has a proud wrestling
heritage, and Iowans know cervical spine injuries are not unexpected
in grappling sports. As a wrestler, Kirk knew the risks: “I
knew injuries could happen in MMA just as easy as in any other
sport. I know accidents happen all the time in all sports.”
If
Kirk’s injury had occurred two years earlier, when he was
a high school wrestler using identical double-leg takedowns in
scholastic competition, his tragedy would be just one more of
the almost 60 severe high school wrestling injuries recorded
by the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research
in the past 26 years.
The
incidence of high school wrestling related catastrophic spinal
cord injury and death is approximately one per 100,000 participants.
Because the takedowns in MMA are essentially wrestling moves,
we assume the MMA risk is similar. Approximately 250,000 boys
and an increasing number of girls participate in high school
wrestling annually. It is unknown how many young people participate
in MMA, but beyond doubt, that number is growing rapidly.
A
Boden and Jarvis 2008 article in Neurlogic Clinics identified
the factors that are highest risk for grappling-related cervical
spine injury: their article reads like a play-by-play of Kirk’s
doomed fight.
Most
serious neck injuries occur exactly as Kirk’s did, during
takedowns of a standing opponent in a defensive posture. Being
thrown to the mat while arms are pinned and striking the top
of the head are particularly high risk. As in Kirk’s case,
a wrestler falling to the mat with the weight of his opponent
on him is at compounded danger. Injuries are more common when
the neck’s natural protective backward curve is removed
by flexion, as Kirk’s was, pinned beneath his opponent’s
armpit. Lastly, injuries are more common in lower weight classes:
Kirk fought at 145 pounds.
Is
1:100,000 a “safe” threshold for catastrophic injury?
How seriously must society consider paralysis in a 14-year-old
freshman or a 20-year-old father? What degree of risk is acceptable
for a state-sanctioned sport? What degree of human suffering
are citizens and fight fans willing to endorse?
Cheerleading
has a catastrophic injury risk of 0.6 per 100,000. High school
football’s risk of death or paralysis is the same as wrestling’s.
Though exact statistics are hard to come by, pole vaulting has
a catastrophic injury risk of approximately five per 100,000
athletes, and competitive diving has a risk of approximately
20 per 100,000. Professional wrestling, if one adds suicides
to in-ring catastrophes, has a risk on the order of 2,500 per
100,000 participants. These are sports of unquestioned legality
everywhere in America.
MMA
athletes have a right to ask -- regardless of the bloodthirsty
image cultivated in the sport’s early years -- for legislatures
to treat their sport rationally.
By
that same token, if we who wish the sport of mixed martial arts
to prosper ask legislatures to be analytical in their evaluation
of the sport’s relative safety, we must, in turn, be realistic
in acknowledging its dangers. The current young generation of
fighters -- boys and girls now in their teens -- is certain to
produce new Chuck Liddells, Georges St.Pierres, Jon Joneses and
Anderson Silvas.
It
will also produce new Zach Kirks. Those young fighters, and we
who support the sport with our money and enthusiasm, must face
that fact with eyes wide open.
Check
beck tomorrow to finish reading The Zach Kirk Saga.
Matt
Pitt is a physician with degrees in biophysics and medicine.
He is board-certified in emergency medicine and has post-graduate
training in head injuries and multi-system trauma. To ask a question
that could be answered in a future article, e-mail him at mpitt@sherdog.com.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Chael
Sonnen Can Re-Apply for a License in California on May 18, 2012
by Damon
Martin
The
saga of Chael Sonnen continued on Thursday when the California
State Athletic Commission determined the timeline for the fighter’s
punishment.
On
a vote of 4-1 on Wednesday, the commission upheld Sonnen’s
indefinite suspension within the state, effectively putting him
out of action.
The
commission has now finalized Sonnen’s timeline as to when
he would be able to re-apply for a license in the state. According
to the California State Athletic Commission, Sonnen’s suspension
will run through his current license expires on June 29, 2011.
Folllowing
the expiration of his license, Sonnen will not be able to re-apply
for a new license in the state until at least May 18, 2012. At
that time, Sonnne can re-apply for a license in the state of
California, but there are still no guarantees he will be approved.
It
was previously believed that Sonnen would not be eligible to
re-apply for a license until June 2012, presumably one year after
his current license expires, but the commission ruled on Thursday
to make it one year from the date of the hearing.
With
Sonnen’s suspension and licensing issue in California, the
fighter can technically go to other states to try and be approved
for a license, but most states will likely honor the ruling form
California.
The
verdict handed down on Wednesday may have cost Sonnen not only
a chance to coach on the 14th season of “The Ultimate Fighter,”
but his shot at a number one contender’s match against Michael
Bisping.
As
of now, Sonnen is effectively on the shelf unless the UFC opts
to pursue a fight for him in a state that would give him a license
or in an area such as the United Kingdom where no athletic commission
is present.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Scrapplers
Fest Jiu Jitsu Tournament
Island School, Puhi, Kauai
(Right behind Kauai Community College)
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Kids
weights and brackets will be made that morning to make fairest
match ups!
White,
Blue belts and Beginner no gi (3 years and under) 131-under,
132-145, 146-159, 160-173, 174-187, 188-201, 202-215, 216-above
Purple-above belts and Advanced no gi (+3years)
159-below,
160-180, 181-201, 202-above
Also
having a 36 year old and above class for gi white belts and blue
belts!
***Not
advertised but Relson Gracie students get an additional $10 off
entry fees.***
Pre-Register
by May 20th and pay
kids/women-$40
Men-$60
Entry
fees on May 21st
kids/women-$50
Men-$70
Men
can add 36-above division to Men division only $10 more! Or just
compete in that division for the Men price
Weigh
ins at Scrappa Lifestylez store in Hanamaulu next to the post
office from 5pm-9pm on Friday May 20th.
Also,
tournament day weigh ins kids/adults till 9am!! And I mean 9am!
Kids
start at 10am
Adults start at 1230pm
Make
sure competitors are there at tournament site at least 1 1/2
hours before estimated times.
There
will be no food allowed in the gym. There will also be food and
drinks available there.
Also
no smoking on school grounds, and no one allowed on the school
playgrounds.
Spectators-
$5 for kids and $7 for adults.
Competitors
will receive competitor shirts while their size last!
Source: Pono Pananganan
|
HUAWA
Grappling Tournament 2011
Grappling
Series II
Mililani High School Gym, Mililani, Hawaii
May 28, 2011
Multiple
Age & Weight Divisions
Children 6-11 years old free to grapple)
Novice (12-13 years old)
School boys/girls (14-15 years old)
Cadets (16-17 years old)
Juniors (18-19 years old)
Seniors (20 and older)
Entry
Fee $25 online registration
$35 Walk-in registration ends 5/28/11 at 8:30AM
Must have a current 2011 USAW card
USAW card $35 at the door
Weigh-in Friday 6-7PM or Saturday 7:30-8:30AM
Competition starts at 10AM
Contact: John Robinson (808) 381-3048
robinsonj001@hawaii.rr.com
|
With
no new UFC live events in the UK, BAMMA steps up: BAMMA 6 5/21
London card (Wembley Arena)
By Zach
Arnold
British Association of Mixed Martial Arts.
Fights
for BAMMA.tv site
Light
Heavyweights: Ryan White vs. Fraser Opie
Welterweights: Jeremy Bailey vs. Laurens-Jan Thijssen
Welterweights: Lee Taylor vs. Kenny Moyston
Lightweights: Costas Doru vs. Jeremy Petley
Welterweights: Sam Watling vs. Leigh Cohoon
Lightweights: Shane Omer vs. Aaron Wilkinson
Heavyweights: Catalin Zmarandescu vs. Sharif Mohammed Ali
Facebook (facebook.com/bammauk)
Lightweights:
Scott Jansen vs. Craig Chesters
BAMMA.tv stream (2 PM EST/11 AM PST)
Heavyweights:
Neil Wain vs. Marcin Barkiewicz
Welterweights: Che Mills vs. Marcio Cesar
Lightweight eliminator: Jason Ball vs. Leonardo Santos
Middleweights: Valentino Petrescu vs. Joao Paulo De Souza
SyFy UK main card (4 PM EST/1 PM PST), also on The Fight Network
& BAMMA.tv
Middleweights:
Ivan Salaverry vs. Matt Ewin
Middleweights: Frank Trigg vs. John Phillips
BAMMA Middleweight title match: Tom “Kong” Watson vs.
Murilo Ninja Rua
Source: Fight Opinion
|
UFC
140 Penciled in For Montreal in December; GSP vs. Nick Diaz on
Tap?
by Ken
Pishna
UFC
Canada’s director of operations Tom Wright has long said
that the promotion’s plans include at least three pay-per-view
events per year in Canada. UFC 129 in Toronto was 2011’s
first and UFC 131 in Vancouver will be the second.
Wright
says that Dec. 10 is penciled in as a date for a return to the
Bell Centre in Montreal for what would likely be dubbed UFC 140.
He revealed the event in a recent interview with Ringside Report
Radio in Montreal.
“We’ll
do Vancouver on June 11 and then most likely we’ll be back
in Montreal on Dec. 10,” Wright said.
Aside
from being the UFC’s third pay-per-view event of the year
in Canada, UFC 140 could be Montreal-based welterweight kingpin
Georges St-Pierre’s third straight title defense on his
home turf.
Wright
alluded to the possibility that the fight fans have been clambering
for since UFC parent company Zuffa acquired Strikeforce, GSP
vs. Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz, could headline a return to
the Bell Centre.
“Well,
I’ve heard about the Nick Diaz-GSP fight, but it is too
early (to tell),” Wright said.
St-Pierre
last defended his title by besting Jake Shields in the main event
of UFC 129 in Toronto. The defense prior to that was in Montreal
in December, when GSP busted up Josh Koscheck at UFC 124.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Titan
Fighting Championship Inks 3-Year Extension with HDNet
by Mike
Whitman
Kansas-based
promotion Titan Fighting Championship has signed a three-year
extension with cable network HDNet to broadcast live events.
Sherdog.com
learned of the deal on Wednesday from multiple sources close
to the negotiations. Those same sources also revealed that Titan
owner Joe Kelly has resigned from his consultant position as
executive director of operations within Bellator Fighting Championships
and will now focus full-time on running Titan. Saturday’s
Bellator 45, which marks the end of the promotion’s fourth
season, will be Kelly’s final show with the organization.
According
to sources, Titan’s original January deal with HDNet was
extended in early March, just prior to the promotion’s second
show with the network.
Following
events on Jan. 28 and March 25, Titan will air its third show
on HDNet on May 27. Headlined by a 140-pound catchweight bout
between former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver and Brian
Davidson, TFC 18 will emanate from Memorial Hall in Kansas City,
Kan. Also featured on the card will be UFC veteran Drew McFedries,
who squares off with Darryl Cobb in a middleweight affair.
Source:
Sherdog
|
UFC
131 card (6/11 Vancouver, B.C. at Rogers Arena)
By Zach
Arnold
Dark matches/TV prelims
Heavyweights:
Dave Herman vs. Jon Olav Einemo
Featherweights: Michihiro Omigawa vs. Darren Elkins
Heavyweights: Joey Beltran vs. Aaron Rosa
Middleweights: Nick Ring vs. James Head
Light Heavyweights: Kryzysztof Soszynski vs. Igor Pokrajac
Featherweights: Dustin Poirier vs. Jason Young
Middleweights: Jesse Bongfeldt vs. Chris Weidman
Lightweights: Sam Stout vs. Yves Edwards
Main card
Featherweights:
Kenny Florian vs. Diego Nunes
Middleweights: Demian Maia vs. Mark Munoz
Lightweights: Mac Danzig vs. Donald Cerrone
Heavyweights (#1 contender’s match): Shane Carwin vs. Junior
dos Santos
Strikeforce
6/18 Dallas, Texas (American Airlines Center)
Lightweights:
JZ Calvan vs. Justin Wilcox
Light Heavyweights: King Mo vs. Ovince St. Preux
Heavyweights: Valentijn Overeem vs. Chad Griggs
Heavyweights: Jeff Monson vs. Daniel Cormier
Ladies (145 pounds): Gina Carano vs. Sarah D’Alelio
Heavyweights: Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers
Heavyweights: Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum
Strikeforce Challengers 6/24 Kent, Washington (ShoWare Center)
Light
Heavyweights: Keith Berry vs. Trevor Smith
Ladies (145 pounds): Julia Budd vs. Germaine de Randamie
Light Heavyweights: Antwain Britt vs. Danillo Villefort
Light Heavyweights: Lorenz Larkin vs. Gian Villante
Lightweights: Ryan Couture vs. Matt Ricehouse
Lightweights: Caros Fodor vs. James Terry
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Miguel
Torres in Rhythm With Firas Zahabi Ahead of UFC 130
By Matt
Erickson
Watching
Firas Zahabi talk to reporter after reporter in Toronto last
month, one almost got the feeling that he might be getting tired
of answering questions about Georges St-Pierre.
So
why not cut one of the most prominent trainers in the sport some
slack, let him get his mind off his welterweight champ for a
few minutes?
"Oh
– you want me to talk (crap) about Miguel?" Zahabi
asks, a smile on his face. "I can do that!"
Zahabi
is most famous for the work he does at his Tristar Gym in Montreal
with St-Pierre, the UFC welterweight champ, and ahead of GSP's
UFC 129 title defense in Toronto against Jake Shields, there
were plenty of questions for the coach. But in the last 10 months,
Zahabi has taken on a new challenge – revamping the fight
game of former bantamweight kingpin Miguel Torres.
And
so far, business has been good. Zahabi has helped Torres (39-3,
1-0 UFC) to back-to-back wins after he lost his WEC 135-pound
title to Brian Bowles in August 2009, his first career knockout
loss, and followed that up by tapping for the first time in a
bloody loss to Joseph Benavidez. In fact, Zahabi believes that
for Torres, the best is yet to come.
"I
still think he's got a lot of potential left, and it's going
to take some time to reach that," Zahabi said. "But
I don't think he's anywhere near where he's going to be in the
future."
But
Torres, who mostly self-trained at his own gym in Northwest Indiana
until taking up with Zahabi last fall, gives a slightly different
account of what his coach tells him in the gym.
"He
hasn't told me anything like that," Torres said Wednesday.
"Everything he tells me is pretty much negative – and
that I'm garbage – so I can get better. But I feel like
I'm getting better every day. When I came here, I saw what I
was lacking in my game. I knew how much more I could pick up
and how much better I could become."
After
a submission win over Charlie Valencia at WEC 51 last September
and a unanimous decision over Antonio Banuelos in his UFC debut
at UFC 126 in February, Torres was given Brad Pickett for UFC
130 next week. But five weeks before the fight, Pickett pulled
out with an injury.
Pickett's
replacement, Demetrious Johnson (9-1, 1-0 UFC), raised a few
eyebrows. Torres' Achille's heel has always been his wrestling.
And "Mighty Mouse"? He was a standout high school wrestler
in Washington and is coming off a dominating 10-takedown performance
to beat Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto in February. But Torres'
wrestling is what he has worked on at length since his last loss.
"When
I fought Benavidez, I had no wrestling skills whatsoever,"
Torres said. "Now it's been a year, and all I've been doing
is wrestling. Every training camp involves wrestling. Every fight
I go into involves wrestling. I'm very confident in my ability
to stop takedowns and use counter-shots to take people down."
Zahabi
also makes no bones about Torres' wrestling – but concurs
with his student that overlooking his ability in that part of
his game might be a mistake.
"It's
definitely his wrestling – I'll admit to that. I have no
problem – I like to say the truth," Zahabi said. "But
I'll tell you one thing: He's working very hard on that, and
he's not going to be easy to take down. He's going to be even
more difficult to hold down, and it's going to be very hard to
stop his submissions. So I'm confident for this fight."
And
so confident are Torres and Zahabi that they say Torres' height
and reach advantage – he's 5-foot-9 vs. Johnson's 5-3 –
will force Johnson to shoot. And bring it on.
"Johnson
shooting on me is the game plan," Torres said. "I want
the guy to try to shoot on me. My whole strength is developed
to hit guys – to force them to have to shoot. They can't
touch me, they can't strike with me – the longer we stand,
the more I win. The longer we stand, the more he has to shoot
to win the round. So as he shoots, as he comes in to try and
touch me, he's either going to get hit or he's going to get sprawled
out. Once he gets sprawled out, he's going to give up his back
or his neck. So for me, Demetrious shooting, him engaging me
in a shot is going to result in me being able to use my full
offense that has developed in the past year with Firas."
And
the past year, Zahabi has seen Torres grow from an almost reckless
fighter, doing it all on his own, to the kind who can admit his
shortcomings and allow himself to be called "garbage"
by his coach. (Even if that's a slight Torres exaggeration.)
"I'm
very happy with Miguel," Zahabi said. "He's taken some
serious steps to move himself forward. It takes somebody who
is very proactive, somebody who is very responsible to do that."
Torres
and Johnson fight on the preliminary card of UFC 130 on May 28
from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The fight will
be part of the Spike TV's live prelims broadcast, which starts
at 8 p.m. Eastern ahead of the pay-per-view at 9 p.m.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
TUF
13 TV Ratings Come Up Slightly From Last Week’s Season Low
The
TV ratings for Episode 8 of “The Ultimate Fighter: Team
Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos” rose slightly off of last week’s
season low. Week 8 clocked in at 1.2 million viewers, a slight
improvement over the 1.0 million that Week 7 drew, just below
the season average of 1.275 million viewers.
TUF
13 TV ratings have been lower than past seasons. Season 12 finished
with an average of 1.7 million viewers.
While
some online pundits point at the format of the show, UFC president
Dana White believes the biggest damper on this season has been
a change in time slot.
Past
seasons aired in the 10 p.m. ET period, but Spike TV chose to
up the show to a much headier 9 p.m. ET prime time slot this
season. The effect was obvious during Week 7’s season low
rating when the show went head-to-head with the NBA Playoffs
on TNT.
White
did admit to one factor in the content of the show, decrying
the decision to not have the cast members fight their way into
“The Ultimate Fighter” house this season.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Bodyweight
Strength Training
by Al Kavadlo
It’s no secret that pound-for-pound strength is one of the
most important factors for having success as an MMA athlete,
and there is no better way to build true pound-for-pound strength
than bodyweight training. After all, how can you expect to control
your opponent if you can’t even control your own bodyweight?
While
conditioning is a key component of being in fighting shape, you
aren’t going to get strong from doing burpees and box jumps
all day. The following three exercises require total body strength
and control in a way that few others do. Master them and you’ll
be amongst the most elite in pound for pound strength.
The
Pistol Squat
You could lift weights for years and never build the strength
needed to do even a single pistol squat. A variant on the single
leg squat, the pistol involves reaching one leg out in front
while you squat ass-to-ankle on the other. It takes strength,
flexibility and control to pull off pistols with poise. Make
sure to engage your abs and keep your heel flat on the ground
when performing this exercise. It may be helpful to sit back
onto a bench or plyo-box when learning in order to help find
the balance. If you fall back, the bench will be there to catch
you. Video Tutorial
The
Handstand Push-up
There is no better way to build monstrous pushing power than
doing handstand push-ups. Start by kicking up into a handstand
against a wall with your back slightly arched and your fingers
spread out. Engage your core muscles and keep your body tight
as you lower yourself down and press yourself up. If you aren’t
strong enough to do this yet, you can start with your feet on
a bench instead. Make sure you touch your head to the ground
on every rep to ensure a full range of motion. You can also try
touching your nose to the floor instead of the top of your head
to allow yourself to go a bit lower. With enough practice, you
may eventually be able to perform a freestanding handstand push-up
without using a wall for support. Video Tutorial
The
Muscle-up
No other upper-body exercise requires both pulling and pushing
power quite like the muscle-up. Even UFC welterweight champion
George St. Pierre has recently started adding muscle-ups into
his regimen. A muscle-up is like a pull-up combined with a dip,
but it’s also so much more! To perform this exercise, you’ll
need a pull-up bar (or gymnastics rings) with plenty of overhead
clearance. When you do a muscle-up, instead of simply trying
to pull your chin past the bar, the objective is to pull (and
then push) your entire upper body up and over. Even if you can
do lots of pull-ups and dips, you’ll likely need some practice
on the transition before you will able to execute a proper muscle-up.
Muscle-ups require lots of upper-body strength and can also help
build explosive power. It’s great to practice doing muscle-ups
explosively as well as slow and controlled in order to reap the
full benefits of the exercise. Video Tutorial Remember to be
patient when learning these new moves - most people will not
be able to do a single rep of any of them upon their first attempt,
so don’t get discouraged if you struggle when starting out.
Stay humble, keep practicing and take it one day at a time. Al
Kavadlo, CSCS is a personal trainer, group exercise instructor
and author of the book, We're Working Out! A Zen Approach to
Everyday Fitness. Al has also coached MMA and Jiu-jitsu fighters
in strength and conditioning. To find out more, visit AlKavadlo.com.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Pedro
Valente to receive red belt this Thursday in Rio
A student of Helio Gracie, a doctor and teacher, Pedro Valente
will receive the gentle art’s highest honor today, when
he will be awarded his red belt in Jiu-Jitsu.
The
ceremony will take place at 7:30 pm at the Gracie Humaitá
dojo in Rio de Janeiro. The belt will be awarded by Master Gracie’s
sons: Rickson, Relson, Royler and Royler,
who will all be there; and Rorion sent a special video from the
United States for the occasion.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Henderson
on Jon Jones: “I’d rather fight him now than in two
years”
By Guilherme
Cruz
Strikeforce
light heavyweight champion, Dan Henderson heard the breaking
news that UFC had purchased the organization he currently fights
in, opening a possible way for a merger in the future.
Considered
one of the best MMA fighters of all times, Henderson spoke with
us at his team in California, USA, to an exclusive interview,
which stamps out the cover of this month’s edition of TATAME
Magazine, and talked, among other subjects, about a possible
duel with Jon Jones, current UFC champion, in the future.
“I’d
rather fight him now than in two years… He’s just been
improving so much, and he’ll be a lot tougher to beat in
two years and I’m getting older, so… (laughs)”
, said Henderson, analyzing Jones’ win over Mauricio Shogun,
at UFC 128.
“I
was surprised by the way Shogun came to the fight. It seemed
like he was very unsure, not prepared, and that’s not Shogun
anybody wants to see. It’s unfortunate, but it happens when
you’re not in shape. When you’re not in shape, it doesn’t
matter what your skills are”, said the fighter.
Source:
Tatame
|
UFC
132 card
(7/2 Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay Events Center)
By Zach
Arnold
Dark matches/preliminary fights
Featherweights:
Erik Koch vs. Cub Swanson
Middleweights: Jason “Mayhem” Miller vs. Aaron Simpson
Bantamweights: Brian Bowles vs. Takeya Mizugaki
Lightweights: George Sotiropoulos vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Lightweights: Melvin Guillard vs. Shane Roller
Lightweights: Andre Winner vs. Anthony Njokuani
Main card
Lightweights:
Dennis Siver vs. Matt Wiman
Welterweights: Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Light Heavyweights: Tito Ortiz vs. Ryan Bader
Welterweights: Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben
UFC Bantamweight title match: Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Parisyan,
Ford Make Weight for ‘MMA Live 1’ Headliner
UFC
veteran Karo Parisyan and Canadian standout Ryan Ford both hit
their marks Wednesday for the welterweight main event of Jones
Entertainment Group’s “MMA Live 1,” tipping the
scales at 171 and 169.4 pounds, respectively.
The
co-headliners of the card -- which takes place Thursday at the
John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario, Canada -- also came in
on-point, as Pride Fighting Championships veteran Marcus Aurelio
(170.6) will meet Nova Scotian Matt MacGrath (170.2).
Parisyan
(Pictured; file photo) will compete for the first time since
his November ouster from the UFC. The embattled judoka was first
released by the promotion in November 2009, when, upon his return
from a nine-month suspension for banned painkillers, Parisyan
withdrew from a scheduled bout with Dustin Hazelett the day prior.
After
submitting Australian Ben Mortimer under the Impact FC banner
in July 2010, Parisyan found his way back inside the Octagon.
However, after a first-round technical knockout loss to Dennis
Hallman, “The Heat” was once more banished by the UFC.
The 28-year-old Parisyan has competed only four times in the
past three years, going 1-2 with one no-contest.
Ford,
29, has won six of his last seven outings and enters his bout
with Parisyan riding back-to-back wins. The former Maximum Fighting
Championships standout has gone 3-1 in the last 12 months, falling
only to current MFC welterweight champ Douglas Lima while topping
UFC vets Pete Spratt and Tom Speer. The Edmonton, Alberta, native
holds a mark of 14-3 and has gone the distance only twice in
his four-year career.
Jones
Entertainment Group “MMA Live 1”
Thursday, May 19
John Labatt Centre
London, Ontario, Canada
Ryan
Ford (169.4) vs. Karo Parisyan (171)
Marcus Aurelio (170.6) vs. Matt MacGrath (170.2)
Daniel Langbeen (145.4) vs. Lyndon Whitlock (145.6)
Brent Franczuz (136) vs. David Harris (135.6)
Derek Boyle (155.6) vs. Jason Saggo (155.6)
Theo Toney (156) vs. Alan Wilson (155.2)
James Haourt (146) vs. Chuck Mady (142)
Source:
Sherdog
|
Hermes
Franca Arrested on Multiple Counts of Sexual Abuse; MFC Fires
Him (Update)
by Ken
Pishna
UFC
veteran and former WEC lightweight champion Hermes Franca has
been arrested in Oregon on several charges of sexual abuse. The
arrest was originally reported by Examiner.com on Thursday.
MMAWeekly.com
confirmed the report with a Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office
official, who said that Franca had turned himself in.
Franca
is charged with seven counts of Sexual Abuse in the first degree
(ORS.163.427) and two counts of Unlawful Sexual Penetration in
the second degree (ORS.163.408). Each crime is a Class B felony
that falls under Oregon’s Measure 11, which requires mandatory
minimum sentences for conviction of serious crimes.
Franca
faces a mandatory minimum sentence of six years, three months
for each of the charges if convicted.
The
Examiner report indicated that Franca had entered a not guilty
plea, but the sheriff’s office official told MMAWeekly.com
that he did not have a record of his plea available.
Franca’s
bail has been set at $250,000. The sheriff’s office official
said that Franca’s trial is set for July 12, 2011.
Franca
was the WEC lightweight champion prior to the promotion’s
acquisition by Zuffa. He also is a veteran of the UFC.
He
was scheduled to face Drew Fickett at MFC 30 for the promotion’s
vacant lightweight championship on June 10 in Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada. But his current arrest and fighting outside of the organization
led MFC president Mark Pavelich to announce his termination on
Thursday.
MFC
Officials Fire Hermes Franca Citing Arrest and Breach of Contract
by Ken
Pishna
Hermes
Franca was arrested in Oregon this week on multiple charges of
Sexual Abuse and Unlawful Sexual Penetration. He is currently
in Clackamas County Jail with bail set at $250,000, facing a
trial date of July 12.
Franca
had been scheduled to fight Drew Fickett for the vacant MFC lightweight
championship at MFC 30 on June 10 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The promotion on Thursday, however, made the decision to release
Franca from his contract, citing both the allegations against
him and a breach of his agreement by fighting outside of the
organization.
“Mr.
Franca’s legal situation is a matter in the hands of law
enforcement officials and soon to be going before the courts
and because of that there will not be any further comment on
those allegations, but I have taken immediate action to indicate
that he is no longer going to be part of my organization,”
said MFC owner/president Mark Pavelich in a prepared statement.
“We
were informed about his arrest and pending trial, and as of 10:30
a.m. MT (Thursday), he has been released. These are serious allegations
that he is facing and I do not want the Maximum Fighting Championship
associated in any way with these matters.”
Franca
last fought for the promotion at MFC 29, winning by TKO stoppage
of Robert Washington. He then went on to fight two times outside
of the organization, submitting Josh Thorpe, but then losing
by knockout to Thawa Ril on April 29 in Brazil.
“Mr.
Franca breached his contract by fighting outside of the organization
only 15 days after his bout at MFC 29, and then he fought again
six days after that in Brazil and lost,” said Pavelich.
“I
find these actions to be incredibly disrespectful to my company
and Mr. Franca is no longer welcome as part of the Maximum Fighting
Championship.”
MFC
officials said an immediate search is underway to replace Franca
in the fight with Drew Fickett at MFC 30: Up Close & Personal.
They expect to announce a new opponent shortly.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
|